Her Destiny Series Part 1 The Center of Destiny
by Bekah Rose
Summary: *COMPLETE* Buffy and Spike are kidnapped during School Hard, but before the Parent Teacher Night. Buffy and Spike must make it to the center of a labyrinth without killing each other... Can they
1. The Centre of Destiny Part 1

Author's Note: This is a response to a challenge from a Buffy/Spike fanfic site. I own nothing. Everything Buffy related belongs to Joss Whedon and UPN. The Challenge idea belongs to Sylvie Tuddle. The work itself belongs to me. Ophion and Eurynome are Ancient Gods said to be the mother and father of all creation after Chaos gave life to Eurynome. The story is set in Parts, each part has four chapters. Buffy The Vampire Slayer is a registered trade mark of UPN and all that rot. Enjoy my story! ( Bek Allen.  
  
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Chapter One  
  
  
  
  
  
Any Takers?  
  
  
  
"Are you afraid?" The dark haired beauty smiled.  
  
"Afraid? No. She's a warrior, she'll kill him." Her dark counter part replied matter of factly.  
  
"She won't. Her heart is too full of love for him."  
  
"Love for him! They just met, it's impossible."  
  
"Ophion, did you not fall in love with me the moment you saw me dance across the sky." She turned to him, a gleeful look in her eye.  
  
"Eurynome, you know that it isn't the same," He answered reaching for her hand. "No one looked as beautiful as you as you danced across the stars that night."  
  
"Attempting to make me forget my offer is not going to work Ophion." She smiled and squeezed his hand softly.  
  
He sighed, "Alright Eurynome, I accept the bet. They won't make it to the end however. They'll kill each other first."  
  
"She won't kill him, she'll realize that she loves him, and he will realize he loves her." Her face radiated self-assurance as she extended her hand to shake his.  
  
"The terms my love?" Ophion asked as he looked into the shimmering pool beneath them.  
  
" If you lose, you'll help them when the time comes, no questions asked."  
  
"And if you lose?" He looked at her questioningly.  
  
"I'll help Angelus when he returns." Her smile faded and a look of worry washed over her fine features.  
  
"He is returning?" Ophion's voice echoed her worry.  
  
"Soon," She whispered, "very soon."  
  
They turned and gazed into the pool, the clouds of mist parted and suddenly, in the water, a lone blond girl walked through a darkened street.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
She had decided to walk home alone after they had finished at The Bronze. Her brain was fried, mostly not from her study session with Willow, but from her encounter with 'Spike'. Her mind had been reeling since he told her he would kill her. She'd spent the rest of the evening trying to place his name. Something in her mind knew she had to feel afraid, but something in her heart fluttered when she thought of the danger and the mystery surrounding the new big bad of Sunnydale. Suddenly, something in the environment around her shifted and she stepped into the shadows of a near- by building.  
  
"Eleanor Rigby picks up the rice in the church where a wedding has been  
  
Lives in a dream  
  
Waits at the window, Wearing the face that she keeps in a jar by the door  
  
who is it for?  
  
All the lonely people  
  
where do they all come from?  
  
All the lonely people  
  
where do they all belong?"  
  
She knew that song, her mind raced to try and place it. Giles! She had often heard him humming it while he was working in the library. The beasties.the bugs. The Beatles. She smiled and took a step out of the shadows not realizing that the voice singing was not her Watcher. The singing continued.  
  
"Father McKenzie writing the words of a sermon that no one will hear  
  
No one comes near.  
  
Look at him working. Darning his socks in the night when there's nobody there  
  
what does he care?  
  
All the lonely people  
  
where do they all come from?  
  
All the lonely people  
  
where do they all belong?"  
  
"Giles!" She said as she moved into the light of a street lamp.  
  
"Hello Pet." Spike smiled and stopped just out of her reach. He had been following her ever since she had left The Bronze. His intent to make sure she got home safely. 'Although, why I care if she gets home safe or not, I have no clue.' He thought to himself.  
  
"What are you doing? Setting me up this evening wasn't enough?" She looked at him and moved into a fighting stance, her entire body radiating both fear and confidence.  
  
"I'm on my way home, if you must know." He could smell her fear and it made the demon inside him go crazy.  
  
"Don't you know that it's dangerous for your kind to be out and about on a night like this?" Buffy asked. "Oh, that's right, I forgot, you're all a bunch of mindless things who don't care if I kick your ass and send you back to wherever it is you all came from." She tossed her hair over her shoulder and reached for the stake hidden inside her waistband.  
  
"I'm not lookin' for a fight Luv if that's what you're thinking." Spike looked at her and took a step back. "I'm just on my way home, singin' my song and lookin' for a scrap to eat."  
  
"Okay. Firstly, it's not your song; it's John and Paul's. Second, home? Don't you mean some sewer somewhere? And the all you can eat buffet of Sunnydale is now closed. You had your chance, but you let your idiot friend screw you over. Not to mention your own big mouth."  
  
"You know who The Beatles are?" he asked, impressed. "It's a good song, should be a mate's theme song. You know, 'all the lonely people, where do they all come from?' Us vampires should use it as a theme song, we are, after all lonely people, and most no one knows where we come from."  
  
She rolled her eyes, before taking a step closer. "I suggest you leave, like, now." Her former valley girl attitude surfacing for a brief moment.  
  
"You go first." He replied. "I told you I wasn't going to kill you until Saturday, and I may be a vampire, but, I'm a man of my word."  
  
"Whatever, I'm going now. I've got other things to do then talk shop with you." She turned to leave. "However, if you do try anything, I'll." She was cut off by someone pulling her into the dark recesses of the building. Before she could react, her vision became blurry and she slumped into the arms of her captor.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter Two  
  
Stakes Are Set.  
  
When she came to, all she could think of was Spike's last words 'I may be a vampire, but I'm a man of my word.' "Yeah right, just another vampire. Note to self. Turning back on undead, wrong." He surroundings were dark and unfamiliar. "And. is that. Mud! Ugh! My new boots!" She cried, "Spike! When I get my hands on you, Saturday will be nothing but a distant memory, cos you'll be sitting in an urn in the school library." Suddenly, her eyes adjusted to the dark and she checked out her surroundings.  
  
He sighed, 'Just when the chit turns around so I can stare at her behind.' He shifted into his game face and got a look at his surrounding. "Whoever is responsible for this, I'm going to rip out your heart and feed on it while you bleed to death." He was in a room, most likely a crypt. The ground was muddy and the walls were concrete. He could faintly make out the sound of a steady heartbeat coming from someplace close by. He sighed and moved towards the door.  
  
"Now, where was I?" He said aloud. "Oh, that's right. Eleanor Rigby died in the church and was buried along with her name.  
  
Nobody came.  
  
Father McKenzie wiping the dirt from his hands as he walks from the grave  
  
No one was saved.  
  
All the lonely people  
  
where do they all come from?  
  
All the lonely people  
  
where do they all belong?"  
  
Her head turned to where she heard the familiar voice; she shifted positions to where she could easily defend herself if the need arose. Her hand reached for the stake in the back of her waistband. "You are so going to be dust the moment you walk through the door." She whispered as the voice got closer. As she went to remove her stake, her hand floundered. Her stake, it was missing. She heard a door open then close, her mind reeling as she tried to search about on the ground for a makeshift weapon.  
  
"You won't find anything." A soft female voice spoke. "You won't be able to destroy anything while you are in this room. This is a haven. No violence is allowed."  
  
"Who is that? And he's a vampire; he'll kill me. He doesn't need a weapon, he has fangs!" Buffy replied.  
  
"He won't hurt you child." The voice became soft and comforting. "There are rules to this.game, if you will." Eurynome reached out a hand to caress Buffy's cheek. "You are both quite safe in here."  
  
"It's what's outside that is the danger." A male voice spoke up. "Ahh, welcome William, nice of you to join us."  
  
"And who the hell are you two?" Spike whispered as he backed against the door he had just entered. "And, you do know that she can most likely kill all three of us in less then a heart beat?" In his true face, he could clearly see Buffy standing next to a dark haired young woman and dark haired young man.  
  
"We are the mother and father of all that is." Eurynome answered.  
  
"Huh?" Buffy asked. "Cos, I'll I'm hearing is, lady with funky accent and man with funky accent have locked The Slayer in a room with a vamp that wants to kill her." She looked incredulously towards the sound of the voices.  
  
"You're not really big on the books are you Luv?" Spike smirked. " The accent is Greek and, they are the mother and father of all creation, am I right?" He looked to the smiling man.  
  
"Yes, you are correct William. We are Ophion and Eurynome." As he spoke, the room became full of a soft light. Illuminating Eurynome, Spike, Buffy and himself. "We are the oldest of all the Gods. We were created when Chaos erupted into life and gave shape and form to the World. We then gave birth to all living things that fill the world with wonder." He moved to stand beside Eurynome, taking her hand in his.  
  
"Oookay." Buffy said as she gazed around the room. "If you two are Gods, then, why do you need The Slayer, and where are we? Oh God! Am I dead?" She began to panic, Spike could hear her heart rate increase, "Cos, Giles is sooo gonna kill me if I've died again."  
  
Eurynome's soft laughter filled the room. "You have not died child. Do not fear us, you are just here to perform a small.test, if you will."  
  
"A test? More tests?" Buffy's face fell, "I have school for tests, which I'm already no good at, what makes you think I will pass this one?"  
  
Eurynome smiled and reached out again to stroke Buffy's cheek. "Relax Ellesbeth. This is a test to decide your destiny and future."  
  
"Both of your futures." Ophion added as he motioned for Spike to come closer.  
  
Eurynome and Ophion turned to each other and smiled. "Children, children, please calm down and save your energies." Eurynome pulled Buffy into a small embrace. "You have now entered the realm of the Gods. Time is precious and your test awaits you." She laughed again.  
  
"Wait, you said something about rules." Buffy looked up into the older woman's eyes.  
  
"Oh yes, the rules. Ophion my love," She looked to him and smiled, "the rules please."  
  
Buffy smiled. The gentleness between the two Gods reminded her of her parents when she had been so much younger. Before the fighting and arguing began, before her need to escape into a different world where she could be free from the screaming and the breaking of coffee mugs, before Merrick and before being kicked out of Hemery. Before moving to Sunnydale.  
  
"Ahh the rules." Ophion pulled out a pair of small backpacks. "In here is everything you will find you will need for the journey." He handed one to each of them. "They are stocked with food and blood and bandages and a small calendar."  
  
Buffy peered into the bag. "No weapons? No map?" She asked hopefully.  
  
Ophion shook his head. "You must find your own way, you must get to the center. Your destiny will be decided if you two can work together to reach the center. There are stops along the way, shelters much like this one. However, in the shelters, a spell has been placed so no violence can take place in them. There will be enough hardships throughout the test that you do not need to be fighting for your lives while you are trying to rest."  
  
"Right." Spike said as he pulled a bag of blood out of the backpack. "If we have to do this test. All right. First off. What is to stop her from staking me the moment we step outside of this room, second, what's to stop me from biting her."  
  
"Oh as if you could!" Buffy snorted, "I'd stake you in less then a heartbeat if you even tried."  
  
"Thirdly," Spike continued glaring at her, "How do we get out of this here room?"  
  
"The light will show you." Eurynome smiled. "But be wary of dangers children. There are demons that will try to thwart your path. However, if you both succeed, your destiny will be rewritten and changed. If you don't succeed, your destiny will remain the way it is written, and all of life as you know it, shall be destroyed."  
  
"Alright then," Buffy whispered, "I guess, the sooner we get this over with, the sooner I can go home and take a nice hot bath and chill out." She smiled at Eurynome. "Let's kick this puppy. But, I can't promise that I won't kill him, he's pretty annoying, plus, he's a vampire and it's my job to slay him."  
  
Eurynome laughed again and pulled Buffy into an embrace. "Let your heart guide you child and be safe."  
  
"Eurynome, it is time." Ophion smiled at Spike and nodded towards the door. "Let the light guide your way out of this safe haven." And just as quickly as he had arrived, Ophion stepped back into the shadows and was gone.  
  
"But, light, is most likely sun light. I'll turn to dust!" Spike became nervous.  
  
"Oh well, not like you'll be missed and it's not as though I'd care." Buffy looked at him and then turned to Eurynome. "Will you be guiding us?" She asked.  
  
"Oh no my dear Ellesbeth. This must be done without guidance. You will know what to do. Remember, let your heart guide you and be strong."  
  
"Eurynome, we must leave now to get them started." Came Ophion's genteel voice from the shadows.  
  
"Yes, yes, I must get back. Coming my love. Good luck Ellesbeth and William." Then, chuckling softly, she disappeared into the shadows and was gone.  
  
Spike looked at Buffy strangely. "Ellesbeth?"  
  
"One word, and you're dust William." She spat back at him before slinging her backpack over her shoulder and walking out of the room following the soft white light.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Chapter Three  
  
No Turns, No Openings.  
  
He sighed and followed her. This was going to be one hell of a test. He had killed two slayers in his time. And now, he had every chance to kill another, but something was stopping him. He looked up. She sure was a pretty young thing. 'Nice little ass too.' He thought to himself as she walked ahead of him down a long corridor. He shook his head. 'What am I thinking?! She's The Slayer, I should be draining her right now. Not marveling at the curves of her hips and ass.'  
  
She sighed and glanced back over her shoulder. He was handsome. Any fool could see that. 'Yeah, and that's what brings the fools to their death. Some girls are so fickle it's not funny. And ooh, big word, Yay Buffy.' She prided herself on the use of a big word. She'd be sure to tell Willow when she got home.  
  
"What, is being a little quicker not on your schedule?" She turned to look at him and caught him staring at her backside. "Hey! Stop staring or you'll be dust quicker then the road runner can run past the coyote."  
  
He looked up at her confused. "What's the road runner and the coyote? And, I wasn't staring. I was thinking."  
  
"You don't know who the road runner and coyote are? And, yeah right, thinking about my ass. Walk in front of me Spike. NOW."  
  
He sighed and jogged to walk beside her. He took in an unneeded breath and could smell her. Apples and cinnamon, it was a different aroma to the usual musk and blood that Drucilla often smelled of. 'What is with you?' Spike chastised himself. 'Slayer, bad.Slayer slay Spike.Slayer lay Spike.NO!' He shook his head and kept on walking.  
  
"Hey, a door." Buffy stopped abruptly. She tensed and prepared to open the door. "You wanna open it? Or should I?" She glanced at Spike. 'Ugh!' She thought. 'Is he always this pathetic?' She shoved him, pulling him out of his reverie. "Okay, we are coming to a compromise."  
  
"Huh?" Spike asked looking down at her.  
  
"Compromise.truce.you don't bite me, I don't stake you.a deal." She tossed her hair over her shoulder and looked him in the eyes.  
  
"Oh, sure Luv, what about it?"  
  
"The way I see this, we have two choices. Choice one, kill each other and miss out on all the fun-ness of kicking your ass on Saturday, or two, we can set aside our differences and work together to get this over with quickly."  
  
"Isn't there another way around this? Like, you do your thing, I sit back and watch and laugh when some big beastie thing rips your head off and drinks your blood." He looked up at her with a self-satisfied smirk.  
  
"Whether you like it or not, Eurynome said we had to work together." She glared at him. "And, just because you came from the lower levels of hell, doesn't mean that I'm going to ruin my chances of resting in peace later on in life. We are going to do what the Gods say and get this test over and done with so I can kick your ass on the weekend." She turned her back on him and pushed open the door.  
  
"Fine, whatever Pet, this doesn't mean that I like you." He followed her through the door. "You've got to be kidding me!" He said as he stopped behind her and gazed around. "This is going to take forever!" His eyes traveled around the seemingly endless maze of hedges and stone walls.  
  
"Ugh, I can't believe this!" She turned and looked at Spike. "You piss me off, I'll stake you seven ways from Sunday." She moved away from the wall and started following the path.  
  
He looked after her; 'This is going to be the worst night of my entire unlife.' He thought as he quickened his pace to follow her down between the first row of hedges. His eyes scanned the walls for the first opening or turn. They had been walking for close to three hours, and he was so close to paying attention to his surroundings that he didn't see Buffy screech to a halt in front of him. "What the hell! Slayer, you forget how to work or something?" He looked at her with annoyance.  
  
She had crouched down onto the ground in front of him next to a hedge, motioning for him to shut up; she reached up and pulled him down beside her. "Shut the hell up and find me something to use as a weapon." She ordered. "Quickly!"  
  
"But I haven't done anything to annoy you.yet." He looked at her before reaching into the hedge and breaking off a branch.  
  
"Thank you, and, if you keep yabbering away like that, I'll stake you." She turned back to face the direction in which they were headed. Suddenly, a large scaly demon turned the corner and Buffy stood up. "The Gods said this was a test, they never said it would be a fun test." She sized the demon up. "You aren't very big, in fact, I've taken down bigger."  
  
"You gonna talk me to death or are we actually gonna fight?" The demon snarled.  
  
"Oh, You're gonna try and fight, I'm gonna kill you."  
  
The demon laughed, showing a mouthful of sharp, jagged teeth before Buffy lunged and landed a punch to his upper jaw. The demon's head reeled from the blow; he retaliated by lashing out and kicking her in the ribs, knocking her back to the ground. She smiled and grunted as she threw her wait back onto shoulders before leaping back up into a fighting stance. The demon rushed her and she leapt out of the way and brought her leg down on the back of his neck, sending him face first into the ground.  
  
"Who are you?" The demon asked between sucking in great gulping breaths of air.  
  
"Me, don't tell me you've never heard of The Slayer." She asked, the heel of her boot pressing down on the middle of his back.  
  
"Slayer?" The demon asked, trying to push himself off the ground.  
  
"Yeah, The girl who kills demons, she who hangs out in cemeteries a lot." Spike answered as he came out from the shadows. "You gotta remember that pal, she is a real danger this one." Then, in a flurry of quick movements, Spike had bought a sharp piece of twisted branch down between the demon's shoulder blades and had twisted the demon's head, snapping his neck. "Oh God that felt good!" He exclaimed. "C'mon Slayer, we've got demons to fight, destiny to change." He moved off down the row and made a quick left turn. "Hey! An opening."  
  
Buffy stood there dumbfounded and speechless. Spike, the vampire Spike, the one who had proclaimed outside The Bronze five hours ago that he was going to kill her on Saturday, just helped her kill a demon. She smiled, 'He's really, kinda nice underneath the whole bad ass thing. If it weren't for the whole, he's out to kill me; he'd be kinda cute. Plus, vampires in general don't make very good boyfriends. Angel is proof of that.'  
  
"Slayer!" Spike called. He'd already been away from Drucilla for five hours; he didn't want to be gone any longer. 'I can't believe she's not going to thank me! I just saved her life, I helped her and she's just going to stand there like a little rabbit caught in the headlights of an oncoming truck. The ungrateful little chit.' He sighed as he pulled a cigarette out of his jacket pocket. "Hurry up!" He called again. 'I don't ever want you out of my site ever again. It's too dangerous.' He continued to think.  
  
"Uh, yeah, coming. wait up!" She called back, hurrying to the opening he had found. "Which way?" She turned her head to look in either direction.  
  
"I don't know." He looked over her head to the right. The row of hedging and wall seemed to continue on and on.  
  
"We could split up." She suggested, "You go left, I go right, we'll meet at the center."  
  
"Oh no we don't Slayer." He grabbed her arm and began to drag her between the rows to the left of the opening.  
  
"Hey! Let go!" She cried out, she twisted her body and flipped him over her hip. "I'm perfectly capable of walking by myself. And why not split up? We'd cover more ground if we did." She began to walk back down the rows, leaving him lying on his back on the soft earth.  
  
"Because I just saved you're ass is why."  
  
"You didn't save my ass!" She screamed. "He was already on the ground when you decided to come out of your little hiding place and help! I did all the hard work! I was the one who got a kick to the ribs! You just broke his neck, which by the way, I could have done WITHOUT staking him in the back."  
  
Spike replied as he stood up and shook the dirt from his duster. "Whatever. Look, I think the idea of this was for us to work together." He hurried to catch up to her. "And, as evil as I am, I do not need two Gods pissed at me for not following their rules."  
  
She sighed and nodded, he had a point. 'A small point but a point none the less.' "We should just keep walking until we find an opening or a turn." She said, more to herself then to him.  
  
"Alright Luv, but, let's just hurry along shall we? I've got places I have to be."  
  
"Don't we all?" She stopped and looked back. The turns and openings where well hidden within the walls of the maze. 'May as well be no turns and no openings,' She thought to herself, 'The walls and row looks like it goes on forever.'  
  
"Coming Pet? Or are you just going to stand there and look at the hedges?" Spike asked.  
  
"Yep, coming, now shut up or I'll stake you." She turned and walked away from him. Her mind whirling with images of their surroundings, trying to figure out where she had seen it all before.  
  
'Moody bitch.' Spike followed her, his eyes scanning the bushes for any oncoming predators that may want to take him on. 'Better be some bloody good future I've got going for me when we get to the center of this bloody thing. Maybe.' He wandered along a few feet behind Buffy, thinking about the possibilities of the future the Gods promised him for helping the Slayer.  
  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Chapter Four  
  
Pit Stop.  
  
"About time." Buffy sighed. They had been walking for four hours since they had left the haven and Eurynome and Ophion. They had slain three vampires; five demons and two things neither Buffy, nor Spike could identify. The walk had been relatively quiet, except for when Buffy spoke to say that she had spotted an opening or a turn and that they would be taking it. She had made all the decisions on about which way they would go. Choosing mostly right turns or paths that led to the right of an opening.  
  
Spike had stopped and looked back in the direction they came. It had taken them four right turns and one left turn to reach the first haven since beginning this silly quest. "You gonna go in or just look at the door like an idiot?" He moved forward only to be pushed back as Buffy walked through the door.  
  
"Don't piss me off Spike." She whispered as she lit a lamp on the table inside the door.  
  
"How'd you know that was there?" Spike looked at her curiously.  
  
"Eurynome said that there were havens like the one at the beginning throughout this entire test. When the light was on, I noticed a small table and lamp near the door we walked out of. Duh." She rolled her eyes and threw her backpack on the floor. "I'm gonna be so grounded when I get home. Mom must think I've run away or something. And, oh god! Giles will think I'm dead."  
  
Spike laughed. "Oh well, isn't it your destiny to eventually die?" He looked at her as she sat Indian style on the floor in front of him.  
  
"Whatever." She opened her bag and pulled out a bunch of grapes. "The Gods sure know how to pack food." She began popping them into her mouth. She sat there silently thinking about how worried her mother and Giles would be. Not to mention Willow and Xander.  
  
He sighed. 'Can't beat her, may as well join her.' "Mind if I sit Pet?" He asked, motioning to the floor beside her.  
  
"Like I have a choice." She continued eating, her hair falling in front of her face.  
  
"Thank you." He sat beside her and opened his own bag, retrieving a packet of blood and an apple.  
  
Buffy looked at him and raised her eyebrow. "YOU, eat food?" She snatched his bag and continued to paw through it.  
  
"Well, duh." Spike replied, "My mum used to say, 'an apple a day keeps the doctor away.' I've always followed the superstition. She used to have a saying for everything. She was a good woman my mum." He bit into his apple and smiled, lost in memories of when he was younger.  
  
"But, you're not alive, so why worry about keeping doctors away?" She looked confused. A year with Angel hadn't taught her anymore about vampires then what she already knew. 'Undead, drinks blood. To become a vampire, they need to suck your blood; you need to suck their blood. It's like this whole big sucking thing. And, oh yeah, sunlight, crosses, holy water, stakes, decapitation, me in general, Bad.'  
  
"Well, fortunate for me, I'm a real good boy and I always take heed of what my mother says. It's the way it was done. You listened to your parents, you respected your parents and you always did as you were told. Not like you lot of today. Always running around sleeping with whoever, showing no respect, not listening to a word your parents say." He looked at her. "Just because I'm a vampire, doesn't mean I don't enjoy the luxuries in life that you mortals take for granted. I eat 'real' food because, it tastes good, and it has a different smell and texture to blood."  
  
"Oh." She handed his bag back and continued to sift through her own. "Sorry."  
  
"No need to be ashamed of askin' questions Luv. If you don't ask, you don't learn." He looked at her and smiled. "Although, I am giving you an insight into a vampire, which, is potentially dangerous to me and mine." He chuckled.  
  
'God he's got a cute laugh.' Buffy thought. 'No! Bad Buffy! Bad! Evil vampire wants to kill you on Saturday. Stop thinking like that!'  
  
"Slayer? Hello? Earth to Slayer? Come in Slayer." Spike shook her shoulder gently.  
  
"Huh? What?" She looked up at him.  
  
"Care to give me a little insight into who you are and what you're about?" He asked her again.  
  
"Uh, maybe later Spike. I'm kinda tired." She looked at him and saw confusion sweep across his face.  
  
"What? It's alright for me to tell you things about me, but the moment we move on to you it's all forget about it? I have to know who I'm working with here, so I can hurry my ass up and get back home." He got up and moved to the other side of the room and began to pace. "Note to self, NEVER trust a Slayer."  
  
"It's not that, honest, I just really am tired. Tomorrow, I promise." She looked at him pace angrily around the room. "Unlike the living dead, I need my eight hours of beauty sleep to look this good."  
  
"Fine." Spike snapped and turned around. "I just wish we knew how to contact."  
  
"Don't be so hostile William." Eurynome smiled as she stepped out into the light from the shadows of the room.  
  
"The Gods." He finished and smiled back.  
  
"You wanted blankets didn't you?" She asked as she moved over to greet Buffy. "I've bought you some. And some water too." She stretched out her hand to stroke Buffy's cheek.  
  
'Just like Mom used to.' Buffy thought to herself.  
  
"She will again my Ellesbeth. Don't worry." Eurynome brushed the hair out of Buffy's eyes.  
  
'Cor she's beautiful. Why I want to kill her I don't know. Oh wait, I'm s'pose to kill her cos I'm a vampire, and she's the slayer.' Spike thought as he watched Eurynome speak with Buffy.  
  
Eurynome giggled and looked at Spike. "Ophion will be so pleased." She smiled and stepped away from Buffy.  
  
"He will?" Spike looked at her warily. "Pleased with what?"  
  
"That you have gotten this far." She smiled. "I must be returning now, Ophion will need me. You'll find everything you need for tomorrow and the rest of the journey in these two bundles. They should fit in both your bags. Now, get some rest, from now on, I will not be able to come and see you. Be safe and."  
  
"Let our hearts guide us." Buffy smiled. "Thank you Eurynome, for everything, we will be safe. See you at the end, and, thank you. For everything." Buffy took a bundle and sat back down to unwrap it.  
  
"See you then Pe.Eurynome." Spike gave her a wavering smile before she stepped back into the shadows and was gone.  
  
Buffy had successfully pulled her bundle apart. It contained a woolen blanket and small book. "Oh, cool. Wonder what's in yours." She asked Spike.  
  
He shrugged and sat down next to Buffy with his bundle. "Exactly the same as yours. Only, my book has a 'W' on it, and yours has an 'E'."  
  
"Does yours have funny writing in it?" She asked, opening her book up to the first page.  
  
"Yep, what does yours say Pet?" He asked laying his book open in front of her so she could see.  
  
"It reads, 'It shines brighter then any star.' but, then it cuts off, and that's all it says." She looked at him confused, "what does yours say?"  
  
Spike tilted his head so he could read the book. "Says, 'and it can be found in each of us.' I think she's given us a riddle Luv." He shook his head. And grabbed his blanket. "I'm going to sleep now, you should do the same, my head feels like it's about to implode." He smiled. "Good night Slayer, don't let the nasties bite." He slipped into his demonic visage and growled at her.  
  
"Oh please. If the nasties did bite, they'd be dust before the first drop of blood touched their tongue. Good night Spike." She grabbed her blanket and moved herself over to the door, away from Spike.  
  
'I wonder what it would be like to cuddle up next to him.' She thought as she lay out her blanket. 'He'd be cold, like Angel to the touch, but maybe he'd make you feel safe. Would he make you feel bad for loving him? Would he make you feel guilty? Maybe he'd make you feel alive, loved.Hey Summers get a grip okay? He's a blood-sucking fiend. He'd bite you before you had a chance to say boo.' She curled up under the blanket, her backpack as a pillow and closed her eyes, letting her conscience argue over what was wrong and what was right.  
  
It wasn't long until sleep took its toll and washed over her, and her breathing became gentle and even. It was then, that Spike sat up and watched her as she slept. 'Like an angel almost, only, she's deadlier then any angel can ever be. Wiser and not as innocent as well. Completely beautiful.' He smiled to himself in the darkness of the room before laying back down to rest. 'C'mon William, get a hold of yourself. She's the Slayer.granted, she's beautiful, but, she's still the Slayer, she'd still drive that wooden stake through your heart before you even had a chance to take an unneeded breath.' He sighed and closed his eyes, willing sleep to come and silence the voices that battled inside his head.  
  
Soon, they had both fallen asleep, welcoming the serenity of their subconscious and the darkness of the room. 


	2. Part 2

Author's Note: I've added a new twist, just cos I'm evil. What if this quest not only decided the outcome of season two, but the entire series itself? Okay. So, the text between **** and **** are flashbacks. You'll understand as you read down. Oh yeah. and there's an angsty bit from Spike's past. I don't go into detail, but you get the picture. Enjoy! . xx oo B. Allen.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Chapter Five  
  
Good Morning Star Shine.  
  
Buffy stretched out and rolled over. 'What a horrible, horrible nightmare.' She closed her eyes again and attempted to go back to sleep. 'Mom should be in any minute now to see if I'm awake.' Suddenly, she sat up right and turned. The sound of a deep growl waking her. 'No. Not fair!' She sighed as she looked over at Spike who was still asleep, his long legs stretching out in front of him, his arms splayed out to the side. 'Well isn't he just a bed hog.' She covered her mouth to hide her giggle. 'He looks so. well. dead I guess.' She stood up and stretched her arms above her head, yawning.  
  
"Hey, Spike." She called out to him. She sighed as he rolled over and continued sleeping. 'Sleeps like the dead too. I could probably have a rock concert going on and he'd never even notice.' She ran her hands through her hair and combed away any tangles before pulling it back into a ponytail. 'S'pose I should wake him. Eurynome told me last night to keep him close.'  
  
He stifled a moan as he rolled onto his side, oblivious to Buffy calling his name. She walked over and nudged him with the toe of her boot. "Hey William!" She yelled. "Get up!"  
  
He sat up straight, his true vampiric nature rushing to the fore ground. "What!" He cried. Looking about for possible danger and something to maim.  
  
She had taken a step back. Afraid he'd break the rules and hurt her. He had seemed so nice last night when he had spoken about his mother; it had made her twice as curious about vampire life then what she already was. "Sorry, I just meant for you to wake up. I'd called to you five times."  
  
He looked up at her as she stood over him, his face slipping back into its human planes. "Oh, sorry Pet, didn't mean to scare you, just.old habit I guess. Only ever get yelled at when I'm asleep if something's wrong." He stood up and rubbed his eyes. "We should get going yeah?" He asked as she continued to fold her blanket and put it in her bag along with the book she had received from Eurynome earlier.  
  
"Yep. The sun just set. I figure, if we walk all night, we'll sleep during the light hours, that way you don't get all crispy critter, and I can easily kill demons more readily in the dark then in the light." She closed her backpack and began folding his blanket.  
  
"What?" He looked at her slightly confused as he pulled a blood bag out of his own backpack and began to drink from it.  
  
"Oh, I'm just.never mind, I'm just rambling." She put his blanket in his backpack and threw it at him. "Let's go." And she headed out the door.  
  
"Okay." Spike looked at her slightly confused and hurried to catch up to her. 'Is she mad cos I woke up and went all 'grrrrr' on her?' He thought to himself. 'Cos, I really didn't mean.WHAT is your problem!' His brain argued, 'She is The Slayer. Who gives a damn if you scared the shit out of her when she woke you up? You're supposed to drink her blood and kill her! Not care if she's scared or upset.' He sighed and slowed to walk beside her. His mind waging a silent war on the do's and don'ts of being a vampire.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
She had been holding her breath, and let it out with one long sigh. "You okay Luv?" He asked looking at her.  
  
"What?" She asked, shaking her head slightly and looking at him.  
  
"The sigh. What's the matter?" He looked at her, unsure of what it was exactly, that he was feeling.  
  
"Huh? Oh, that," She shook her head. "Nothing's wrong, I didn't even know I'd been holding my breath." She nodded and kept walking straight ahead.  
  
"If you say so Pet." Spike followed closely, letting his gaze travel over her every now and then.  
  
"You drive me crazy, I just can't sleep. I'm so excited I'm in too deep." She began to sing as they continued their quest to the center of the maze.  
  
"Oh god Slayer, please." Spike hurried up and stopped in front of her. "Please, anything but that."  
  
"Huh?" Buffy asked, stopping to look at him.  
  
"Stake me, pour holy water on me, BURN me with crosses, anything but making me listen to that. that.wench!"  
  
"Brittany?" She looked at him confused. "She's not a wench." He shot her a look that sent shivers down her spine. "Okay, so maybe she's a sort of wench, but her music is okay.some of it." She continued to hum softly to herself and began walking again. Spike sighed and followed.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Along the way, they had stopped to break off bits of wood from some of the hedges. They now both new of the potential danger of collecting wood, especially Spike. Twice he had almost fallen onto a broken branch as they had been rushed by a small group of vampires. Buffy had saved him just in time but catching him by the back of his duster and flinging him forward, away from the sharp pieces of wood that threatened to impale his heart  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Why can't they just all be vampires?" Buffy whined as she wiped some purplish-bluish goo from her nose.  
  
"It isn't meant to be easy Luv." He turned to look at her and began to chuckle.  
  
"What?" She began to look nervous, looking down and inspecting her chest, hoping that the goo hadn't made her white shirt see through and allowed him to see her light pink bra with the purple stars scattered across it.  
  
He stepped up and stretched out his hand. Gently he wiped a glob of the goop from the center of her forehead. "Nothing Pet, you just missed a bit is all." Her blood rushed to her veins and she could feel it creep slowly from her collar up her face. She whimpered and leaned into his touch. His hands were soft and gentle.  
  
'Not exactly the hands of a killer.' She thought to herself, 'They aren't even like Angel's hands. His hands are rough and callused. From many years of hard work, from before and after he was made a vampire.' She looked up at him and felt a bolt of electricity shoot through her spine. "You're not exactly 'Mr. Clean' either Spike." She smiled and wiped some goo away from the corner of his mouth. "When those things explode, they really explode don't they?" She giggled nervously as her hand remained there for a moment longer then needed. His gaze was intense; she could feel his eyes boring into her heart and soul, trying to find out what was going on inside her mind.  
  
"We should keep moving, it'll be day soon, we've been walking for almost seven hours." She stepped back from him too quickly and lost her balance.  
  
Spike moved to catch her. His arms wrapped tightly around her waist. "You okay Buffy?" He asked, his voice full of concern.  
  
"Yup." She nodded and moved her hands to rest on his own. She didn't pull his from around her waist, but leaned into his hold, resting her head against his chest for a moment before looking up at him and stepping away slowly. "We should really keep moving now. I think we still have another hour before we find today's shelter." She continued going in the direction they were headed.  
  
Spike stood still for a few moments. She hadn't turned away in disgust as he held her. He wondered why, had she too, felt the jolt of electricity just before she lost her balance? Is that what made her jump back quickly. 'Get a grip man! She's the Slayer; of course she was disgusted when you held her in your arms! To her, your nothing but a childhood monster come to life.' "No mate, that is NOT it." He whispered to himself and started after her.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
Chapter Six  
  
Some Things Change.  
  
The last hour had been silent. No talking, no laughing, no arguing, not even a fight with a demon or vampire. Buffy could see the shelter down at the end of the row of hedges. It was, at least another half an hours walk from where she stood. Spike had trailed behind her for some time, and now was at her side.  
  
"Tired yet Pet?" He asked casually. 'Would you like me to carry you? Wrap you in my arms; hold you close as you. William! Shut the bloody hell up!' He scolded himself. He had spent the last hour in a silent war with his own thoughts. Compiling a 'Should I?' 'Shouldn't I?' debate in his mind. Something was not right with him... he was. 'Attracted', for lack of a better word, to the young slayer.  
  
"Nope, not tired." She covered her mouth as she yawned. "Okay maybe a little." She grinned sheepishly at Spike before nodding in the direction of the shelter. His response was a curt nod and they continued on. 'Did he feel it?' She mused over in her head again. 'He had to of felt it. It's not the kinda thing a person doesn't feel. What's that old saying? Love strikes where it is least likely. or, some crap like that. and. Okay! Where in the Hellmouth did THAT come from? LOVE? Spike? Me? Nooooo, no no no no no.' She shook her head vigorously. Trying to get that thought out of her head, "he doesn't and I don't."  
  
"What's that Luv?" Spike looked at her and raised his eyebrows.  
  
"Nothing," She replied, "just thinking out loud. We should hurry to the shelter cos it'll be day soon, and . Eurynome would get upset if. you were to.uh.go poof or something like that." She stammered and fell over her words. 'Two points for covering your talking to yourself Summers. Minus two points for babbling like a dick head and coming up with a lame ass lie.Shut. Up. Now.' She threatened herself. 'C'mon Buff. You KNOW you're hot for him. Look at him! Except for the whole, evil undead thing he has going, you'd be ready and willing to jump his oh so jump-able bones.' Her conscious persisted. 'You KNOW he felt the zappy thing before. Ask him if you don't believe yourself. You saw it in his eyes when he held you. It was like.magic, or something.Okay, okay, I'll speak to him when we are inside.' She sighed again, she knew that she was right. "No point in lying to myself is there?" She whispered, thankful that Spike had run ahead to the shelter as the dawn began to break over the horizon.  
  
"Slayer!" He called out to her. "Hurry up!" 'I wonder what she's thinking.Probably thinking of the perfect way to stake me without pissing off the Gods.' He frowned. She had been warm when he held her. Her warm to his cold. Something he hadn't felt in a century. Not since he'd.Cecily. He felt the tears prick his eyes and his undead heart twisted with pain at the memory of the way she had begged him not to rape her, as she pleaded with him to not do it. He'd only been a vampire two weeks before he'd found her at a party and offered to escort her home.  
  
**** "William, I'm sorry for what they said, back at the party." She had whispered as they walked along the darkened streets of London.  
  
"That's okay Cecily, it was not your fault." He had everything planned, he'd wait until the alley just before her home and then he'd make her feel like he had been made to feel for the last five years. Incompetent, not worthy enough for her love or affections. He smiled in spite of himself. Angelus had given him the permission he needed to take this human girl and brake her like she had broken him.  
  
"You are happy because we teased you and made fun of your poetry?" She looked confused.  
  
"What? Oh, no," He shook his head, "I'm smiling because, you allowed me to walk you home this night. There are unforeseeable dangers that lurk in the shadows once the sun goes down, it wouldn't do to have them get to you Cecily dear."  
  
"Yes, thank you, I wonder what could have happened to Lucas?" She had smiled at him and continued on how nice it was to just be friends, he could stop obsessing over her. "Even though you are quite eligible, I mean, your father is richer then mine, but, it's just, easier to be friends, I mean."  
  
He cut her off, dragging her into the alley. His borrowed blood rushing through his veins. "You're lucky I ate before I came to the party Cecily." He growled. "Lucas didn't even make this much noise when I sucked his life from him." Her eyes widened in terror as he gave mention of her fiancées name. "Sure he was shocked, much like you are now, but he was not scared, he even pleaded with me to spare you. Such a martyr. But you. you are full of fear, which, is fine, because it makes the blood taste sweeter." His face had then slipped into its demon mask and he sank his fangs into her soft neck. As he drank from her, he ripped her dress up and pulled his breeches down and began to rape her.  
  
"William.please.no, don't." She begged as he stopped drinking of her. He wanted her to survive, so she could live with the shame and humiliation of the night's events. She had continually flirted with all the men at the party. Nothing too forward, they had all been friends since childhood and most men knew of her engagement to Lucas, her first love. The friends from the party knew she was chaste and pure. She hadn't even kissed Lucas on the lips until he had proposed. And here was William Campbell, taking her innocence and smashing it upon the ground just as she had done to his heart. *****  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
She had gotten closer to the shelter in the last few minutes. Spike had called to her then he'd gone completely silent, his eyes had taken on a glazed look, as if he'd tuned out with his surroundings and was thinking about something else. 'Is he okay?' She thought to herself, she had stopped and was watching him. She was still a few yards away from him, but could see the way his face was etched with memories of a painful past. Buffy turned and looked at the horizon, the sun had just reached the top of the hedges, threatening to spill light onto anything in its path. She turned back to face Spike and realized that he wasn't going to be moving anytime soon.  
  
"Spike!" She screamed as she looked back at the sun before bolting to the doorway of the shelter. Her legs began pumping as she ran the last few yards to the doorway, flinging herself at Spike and knocking them both to the ground, her on top of him. "You really got a death wish don't you?" She gasped for breath as she used her foot to kick the door shut.  
  
"What? Slayer?" He looked up at her confused.  
  
"I called you three times,' She lied 'Okay so it was only once, he doesn't have to know that.' "You just stood in the doorway with a really sad look on your face and then you were almost toast when the sun broke the tops of the hedges. So I ran to get you out of the way. It just wouldn't be. 'Yay! Summers! Let's enter you in the Olympics for the Mentally Challenged at Conversation!' Right. It wouldn't be right if you didn't complete this thing with.me." She looked down into his eyes and saw something there that made her heart pound faster and her blood rush to the tips of her ears.  
  
"Oh, really?" Spike looked amused, she had seen something that made her blush. 'Something in me?' "That's three times you've saved my ass Slayer."  
  
"Yeah, but, it's such a cute." She stopped as it dawned on her that he was grinning like the Cheshire cat. "Habit.of.mine."  
  
Now it was his turn to look into her eyes. 'If I had a pulse, I'm sure it would be going crazy by now.' His words caught in his throat as her eyes, filled with lust, and longing and love spoke volumes to him. He reached a hand up to pull her head closer.  
  
"We.we can't." She whispered, "It's wrong." 'If it's so wrong, then why do you let Angel touch you like this? Why do you let him hold you? Why do you let him make you feel guilty about loving him? Remember what you told Willow almost a year ago? Carpe Diem. Seize the day, go forth young person, have F.U.N.'  
  
He had stopped and watched her. She was fighting an inner battle. He smiled to himself in relief because that meant he wasn't going crazy. Soft maybe, but not crazy. "Ellesbeth?" He whispered.  
  
She looked at him, startled. "W.William?" She looked at him questioningly. 'It can't be.' She thought. 'Oh, it can be. Summers.Party of One, a nice little padded room overlooking the bay please.' She thought to herself. 'I'm in love with another vampire.'  
  
"Please?" He asked, "Don't be scared, I swear on my.our destiny that I won't hurt you." He looked at her with longing and passion.  
  
"I'm not scared of you William," She whispered, "I'm scared of me. I.I don't know how to feel, or if I should be feeling this way." Her eyes reflected his longing and passion, but also showed her confusion. "I'm The Slayer. It's my duty to hunt you and kill you, not find you, argue, work with you then fall in love." She closed her eyes, the words accidentally slipping out of her mouth before she could think.  
  
His face lit up with hope. She had just said she loved him. "I love you too Ellesbeth."  
  
She opened her eyes slowly and looked at him. "You do?"  
  
"Yeah, well, at least I think I'm starting to. Earlier, when you almost fell and I caught you, I felt."  
  
"A zap, like electricity?" She asked him, looking into his eyes, hoping for the truth to be anything but that he felt it. She was too scared to explain the rights and wrongs of her feelings, and 'Angel. What about Angel? Yes. What about Angel?' She looked at Spike as he nodded that he felt the same spark as she did. 'Angel. I love him, but he makes me feel guilty about our love. Spike, I think would at least make me laugh or smile or would tell me yes what we are doing is wrong, but we'd have fun anyway.' She smiled and he felt her heart flutter against his chest.  
  
"Ellesbeth, just, let's enjoy what we have? Please? We won't worry about what's going to happen once we are out of here." His eyes pleaded with her. 'Not another Cecily. Don't let this be another Cecily.'  
  
She thought about it carefully, then Eurynome's words came back to her slowly while they had been talking and Spike had been paying no attention. "At the end of this test, you will have no knowledge of what happened here. Your memory of this place will be erased. You will be shown a piece of your destiny at the end, and given the choice to leave it as it is, or change it. But, either way, when you are home at Sunnydale, you will not remember anything from this place, you will not know about your future." She sighed; Eurynome's point had been simple. Do this, and we make your life easier, or harder, we'll tell you about it, but then, we'll brainwash you into forgetting about it.  
  
He was looking at her mull it over in her head. Suddenly, nervously, her head dipped to meet his and she kissed his lips softly. "We'll take it as it comes." She whispered. He moaned as she nipped at his lower lip, tilting his head to increase the depth and passion of their kiss.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
  
  
Chapter Seven  
  
  
  
Waiting it Out.  
  
The dark haired beauty smiled and raised an eyebrow at her lover. "I TOLD you Ophion." She giggled and raised a glass in a mock toast. "I think, a speech is in order, don't you? Or at least an apology."  
  
"You are beginning to get as bad as our children with your gloating Eurynome." He chuckled. "But, you were right. AND before you say anything, I am sorry, I should have listened to you in the beginning. And, even though I would have helped with Angelus if they made it to the end of the maze or not, I think it was a good idea for them to fall in love, even if they won't remember it." He nodded and raised his own glass to hers.  
  
"Yes. Their love although already within them, needed the right environment to grow. Our maze was the perfect place. And, even if they don't remember, they will, be drawn back to each other throughout time. They will come and go like the tide against the sea. But, in the future, their bond will increase, and blossom into something more than trust and friendship. It will bloom into a tremendous love, that will take each of them to Heaven and back again." Her gaze shifted and looked into the shimmering pool where the couple could be seen lying on the floor of the shelter locked in a warm embrace.  
  
"Heaven? For a vampire?" Ophion looked at her.  
  
"Yes, she will take him there. They will go to Heaven, one after the other, then they will journey back together."  
  
Ophion looked confused. "What do you mean dear?"  
  
Eurynome sighed and shook her head. "After Angelus, there will be more for her. But, she will reach Heaven first by the hands of a God."  
  
"A God?" Ophion was dumbstruck. Never in his time, had he heard of a God killing a warrior of the people.  
  
"Oh no my love, not one of OUR children." She saw relief flood his face. "You remember, the young Glorificus? She will return, looking for a way back into the hell dimensions. Our Ellesbeth will sacrifice herself to save not only her world, but the Heavens as well."  
  
"She won't have it easy will she Darling?" Ophion asked as Eurynome waved her hand over the shimmering pool and the colorful mists hid the loving couple from sight.  
  
"No. But she will survive. William will help her survive."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Chapter Eight  
  
Seizing the Moment.  
  
She wouldn't let him go any further, not yet. They had spent a bit of time just wrapped up in each other's arms, kissing and snuggling. They had fed each other fruit from their bags, Buffy had drunk most of their water supply and Spike still had a few bags of blood to last him for the next two days. Appetites sated, thirsts quenched and feelings discovered, the pair sat under their blankets, clinging to each other.  
  
"My mum, she works at a gallery." Buffy began, "She says that the artwork is an expression of life and life's emotions."  
  
"It's quite possible Luv, an artist may well draw or paint or sculpt his feelings, much the same way a poet or singer writes down their feelings in their music." He brushed a strand of hair from her eyes. 'Such beautiful, green eyes. So deep and full of sparkle.'  
  
"I suppose, but, then my Watcher has pieces of potentially dangerous art work.you know, effigies and talismans that help invoke evil or open the hellmouth. delivered to the library for study and to keep them safe. And when I see them, I think to myself, 'what on Earth was the artist thinking when they made this?' It's as though they have seen what I've seen, that they know the darkness that lurks in the shadows of office buildings after the sun goes down." She sighed and ran her hands down his chest.  
  
"Maybe they have Pet. Maybe they have seen what monsters are real.Lawyers, Politicians."  
  
"School Principals." She cut him off and giggled. "Sorry, principal at school is, I think, an evil troll in disguise.Long story." She said as he gave her a funny look.  
  
"Vampires, Accountants, Polgara demons. Maybe they have seen them. Maybe their art is a reflection of nightmares come true." He whispered, holding on to her tighter. "Everyone depicts 'evil' in their own way. Even us monsters. You see me as something evil, my kind see you as something evil."  
  
"But, I'm good." She looked at him confused. "How can I be evil?"  
  
"Good to us IS evil Buffy. It is something that we feel the need to quash."  
  
She made a small 'Oh' with her lips. "Okay, no more talk of evil. Let's change topic." She snuggled closer to him. "Do you really want to kill me, or get rid of me?" She looked up into his eyes. 'So big. Baby blues. My baby's baby blues.'  
  
"Right now? No. I want to do many more things other then kill you," He watched the color creep into her cheeks. "I want to kiss you and hold you Ellesbeth, not kill you. Before, I did want to get rid of you because I saw you as one more obstacle to overcome. Now, the only obstacle I can see, is what will happen at the end of this quest."  
  
"We'll figure it out." She smiled softly and held him closer. "So, what were you thinking about before?"  
  
"When before Pet?" He asked kissing the top of her head.  
  
"When I saved your butt from becoming toast. You had this really far away look in your eyes. Like you regretted something, which I know sounds weird cos, vampires don't generally tend to regret or feel guilty." She moved her head to rest on top of his chest.  
  
"Now hang on Pet. That isn't true. We CAN feel regret. We just don't have a conscience that lets us feel guilt. Most of our feelings are made by a conscious choice. When we are turned, our soul dies, and the demon takes over. The demon makes us live carefree, but our decisions are conscious choices. My ability to love is a conscious choice, as is my ability to regret. And, as for what I was thinking, I was regretting hurting someone I used to once hold very dear to my heart."  
  
"Oh. Would you tell me please?" She asked running her fingers through his hair.  
  
"Would you think less of me if I told you?"  
  
"Are you going to do it to me and are you going to do it to my mom?"  
  
"N.no. I can certainly say that I would never be able to do that to you. I mean, I could do it and I wouldn't feel guilty about it, but, I wouldn't do it, because I'd hate to see the pain in your eyes, knowing that I was responsible for that pain." He looked at her. "It's the best way I can explain it Luv."  
  
"Okay, then, nope I wouldn't think less of you."  
  
"Right then, well. When I was young, around the age of four or five, I was introduced by my parents to a small girl my age named Cecily. She was very nice to me in front of our parents. However, when she was left alone with me, she said I was too small to be her friend. You see, I was born premature, and my parents didn't think I'd survive my first year, but I did, and I've always been a bit small for my age." He stopped and looked at her, her gaze never leaving his face.  
  
"Right, so, when we were older, I got a little taller and I fell in love with her. She never gave me the time of day. She knew that I loved her and that I cared for her a great deal, but she never fully appreciated that love. She took me for granted, when one of her suitors would marry another girl, she would use my shoulder to cry on, and then, when I expressed my love to her, she would humiliate me and make me feel completely unworthy. Then, one night, two weeks after I'd been turned, I gained my sire's permission to make her feel my humiliation and pain. So, I killed her fiancé and then, under the guise of walking her home to protect her from evil monsters, I raped her and drank some of her blood, leaving her beaten and bloody in an alley just outside her home.  
  
"And now you hate me for that right?" He looked questioningly into Buffy's eyes.  
  
"Wow, what you did, was.awful." She looked away sheepishly, "I mean, what she did was pretty bad, but, it's part of your past isn't it? You're not going to do that to me are you? And, I don't hate you."  
  
"No, I don't do that sort of thing anymore. I mean, the raping thing. I. I have a new found respect for women." His mind flashed to Drucilla and her incredible rage the night she found out how he had abused Cecily. His chest still carried faint scars from where she had tore at his skin with her nails before Darla and Angelus pulled her from him. "I still kill women, drain their blood, turn them into vampires. But, I will never bring myself to rape another woman for as long as I unlive."  
  
"Okay then." She smiled and leant up to kiss him before stifling a yawn. "Sleepy Slayer." She smiled at him, glad to be wrapped up in the arms of someone strong and who would keep her safe.  
  
"Yes, it is getting late. Get some rest Luv, long walk tomorrow night, we don't know how far we've got 'till we reach the center of this damn labyrinth." He kissed her nose and her eyes, bidding sleep come and ease their weariness.  
  
"Oh. Will we get to fight the Goblin king in the tights?" She murmured sleepily and held onto him tighter.  
  
"I'm sure we would Luv, if I even knew what you were on about." His arms snaked around her again, holding her close.  
  
"He the mnamsh..goomove." Her words ran together and made no sense as she drifted into a deep sleep.  
  
"Love you Ellesbeth." Spike closed his eyes and concentrated on listening to the girl's heartbeat begin to find a steady pace.  
  
"Hmmmph.. llub eww woo." She buried her face in his chest and welcomed the inky blackness of sleep once again. 


	3. Part 3

Author's Note: Once again, the Buffster and Spike are not mine. They belong to Joss and UPN. Sit back, chill out, and find something to drink and enjoy the next part of my story. Also, this is where it gets smutty, so, if the idea of Buffy and Spike having sex disgusts you, turn away.TURN AWAY NOW!!! muwahahaha = ) B. Allen xxoo  
  
  
  
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Chapter Nine  
  
Sealed With Kisses.  
  
His hand was tangled in her hair. He'd unconsciously been running it through her hair as they slept. When she woke and went to sit up, she winced before realizing just how tangled her hair had become.  
  
"Have you never heard of hairbrushes?" Buffy called into the darkness. "Of course not," She grumbled to herself as she tried her best to smooth away her tangles with her hands, "Eurynome must look perfect all the time, she doesn't need a mirror cos, hey she's beautiful twenty-four seven. Must be easy being a Goddess, have people worship you, a hottie for a partner, you get immortalized for, like, ever. Not to mention beauty that is found not only outside, but inside as well." She continued to grumble to herself as she set about trying to find some food for her to munch on until Spike woke up.  
  
"She did have a nice laugh though Luv, you have to admit that." Buffy let out a strangled cry as she jumped at the sound of Spike's voice.  
  
"I thought you were still sleeping?" She walked over to him and sat down with her backpack in hand.  
  
"I was, but then I felt you move away from me." He looked at her questioningly.  
  
She searched his face then blushed, "Sorry, I just .hair. and food. I'm not like you; I don't get to look all. perfect. when I'm asleep. I have to deal with the bed hair and the.morning breath." She reached into her back pocket and pulled out a packet of gum, popping a piece into her mouth.  
  
He smiled. She was so cute when she rambled, the way her brow furrowed in concentration, the way her nose screwed up when she said morning breath. He thought that the way she tried to ease out of the uncomfortable silences that drifted between them now and again was sweet. 'Oh hell, she regrets it, doesn't she?' He thought to himself. 'No mate, just, calm down and ask her.gather up the stones and just ask her.' "Buff." He was cut off just before he had the chance to ask her.  
  
"Bells." She said with a definitive nod of her head.  
  
"What Luv?" He asked craning his head, trying to see if he could hear the 'bells' that she had just spoken of.  
  
"Eurynome's laugh." She replied. "It sounds like soft bells. Not the ones you hear in a bell tower, more like the ones you put on a cat's collar. Or the sound of wind chimes. Just after a soft summer breeze has knocked them about to make them tinkle. It's really a very pretty laugh." She looked at him.  
  
"Oh, THAT'S what you where talking about." He nodded in agreement with her observation.  
  
"You weren't listening to me at all just before were you?" She glared at him. Her big, green eyes sparkling with love and a hint of anger.  
  
"Sorry Pet, I was lost deep in thought." He reached out to pat her shoulder, his eyes pleading with her to forgive him. 'Wouldn't do to have you bugger up a relationship before it began now would it William?' He chastised himself silently again. He'd gotten so good at bawling himself out in the last one hundred and twenty-six years, he'd often had to do it when he'd said something to make Dru upset or go off in one of her rants.  
  
"What where you thinking about?" She asked turning her eyes down. 'Please let him have been thinking of me.oh please.I wonder if he had dreams like the ones I had last night.Laying together, in each other's arms, petting, kissing, touching. Oh lord, please let it be me he was thinking about.' She peeked up at him through her eyelashes.  
  
"I was actually thinking about how cute you were when you ramble on a bit Buffy." He tipped her chin up and looked at her eyes. "Your eyes betray what you are thinking Luv." He whispered softly before dipping his head to hers, brushing his lips against hers.  
  
"They always do.have.do." The words tumbled over her lips before she could think. "Do you." She pulled back a little, half-hoping he'd not answer, half-hoping he would.  
  
"Not in the least. You are the most beautiful girl I've ever seen, and I've seen quite a few, what with being one hundred and twenty-six years old and all that." His fingers gently stroked her cheeks and his eyes sought hers. "Do you regret any of this?" He asked, holding her gaze.  
  
"Just that you're a vampire, and that it took me long enough to realize my feelings." She touched his cheek as he bent his head.  
  
"I'm sorry." He whispered.  
  
"Don't be. Maybe it's part of our destiny. The rules say I slay vampires, no where does it say I can't love them." She lifted his head and kissed him gently on the lips. 'Not like I haven't visited the undead boyfriend road before.' She thought as she felt his hands pull her head closer to his, deepening their kiss.  
  
A moment later, they broke the kiss so Buffy could catch her breath. Her eyes had become hazy and glistened with passion and desire. Spike was sure that his gaze was a mirror image of hers. His deep blue eyes glassy with love for the sweet, young slayer. She pillowed her head on his chest; she couldn't hear his heart beating as hers was. She couldn't feel his chest rising or falling to regulate his breathing. The only thing she could do, was listen to her own. Everything was so one sided. The same way it was with Angel. However, with Spike, she knew that, even though a beating heart and racing pulse and heaving chest were one sided, she knew that the love was two sided. With Angel, it was a one-sided love, one-sided life and one sided guilt trip. Since she had returned from L.A. after the summer, being around him gave her an ache in her heart. Even though she loved him and didn't care what the council or Giles or anyone thought, it was he who felt guilty because of the love and friendship that had blossomed between them. With Angel's guilt, came her own contrition about her feelings towards the tall, dark stranger that had helped her escape from The Three and helped her defeat the Master last spring. Spike wasn't making her feel sorry for her feelings. Nor was he making her feel like she was the only one who felt that what they were doing was wrong and something to be frowned upon.  
  
Spike's eyes had closed and he focused on hearing her heart slow down to a regular pattern. If he focused long enough and hard enough, he could imagine that his heart and hers had become one and beat with the same steady rhythm, even though he knew it was impossible, he still liked the possibility that it could of happened. "Ellie." He whispered softly. "Darling?" He shook her gently and kissed the top of her head.  
  
"You called me Ellie." Came her whispered reply. "No one ever calls me Ellie anymore. Not even." She trailed off as her mind wandered back to happier memories of happier times, when her family was still a family.  
  
"We have to get going." He wanted to know what was going on inside her mind, but he knew better then to push the issue. If she were going to tell him, she'd tell him in her own time. He felt her nod her response and they began packing their backpacks before leaving the safety of the shelter and walking out into the maze.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
They had been walking for two hours, a comfortable silence falling between them not long after they left the shelter. It was half an hour after leaving that they had slain their first demon. He'd tried to lift Buffy and take her away over his shoulder. Spike had ended up kicking the demon in the back of the knees, dropping it to the ground, inadvertently having Buffy thrown from its hold into a near-by thicket of hedge. Spike had never felt such anger since that night with Cecily. As he called to see if she were all right, Spike kicked the demon in the stomach and snapped its neck, popping it's head from its neck like it was no more then the head of a flower. "MY slayer." Spike had whispered to the demon head as he flung it across the maze wall.  
  
Now, they walked silently abreast each other. Each nursing silent thoughts of how to start a conversation. Suddenly, Buffy's hand found Spike's and he felt her fingers entwine with his and her palm slip next to his. 'His hand isn't big like Angel's, it isn't weak like Pike's.' . it seemed to fit her hand nicely. 'Not too big that it envelops my entire hand and half my wrist, not too weak that I'm afraid that if I grip it tight enough, I'll break it.'  
  
"Give you a star for your thoughts Slayer?" Spike whispered quietly.  
  
"Oh, just thinking about your hands." She replied smiling at him. "Can I ask you something?" She asked looking up at him in the moon and torchlight of the maze.  
  
"Anything Luv."  
  
"The vampire outside The Bronze, he called you Spike. But, Ophion called you William. I sorta figured William was your real name, but, why do you go by Spike as well?"  
  
He chuckled, "I suppose it was a bit of a shock hearing Ophion call me William. Hell, even I was shocked." He pulled her closer and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "My mum and dad, named me William. It was part of our family's heritage, eldest son.family name. that sort of thing." She was watching him intently, her mind going over each word he was uttering. "Then, when I was turned by my sire, I began to follow his lead of torturing victims before killing them, so I tortured my victims with spikes from the railroad before killing them. We used it as a.bonding.experience." He could feel her body tense at the mention of his bloodied past. "I'm not like that now." He whispered, "I. I still like the thrill of the hunt and the kill. Don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed being a maniacal vampire on one big, long killing spree, but now. Buffy, I'd move the stars for you, I would." He stopped and turned to face her.  
  
"I know." Her heart began to beat faster at the intense gaze. "I." She was cut off by a vampire jumping from the hedge closest to her. "EXCUSE ME! I WAS TRYING TO HAVE A MOMENT HERE!" She yelled as she beat the vampire down with a roundhouse kick to the head, followed quickly by an uppercut. As he stumbled toward her, with outstretched arms and blood lust in his eyes, Buffy thrust out her palm to connect with his nose.  
  
Spike grinned evilly as he heard the cartilage snap as the vampire's nose was broken and forced up into its skull. If he had been mortal, the blow would have killed him. She was so graceful and fluid in her movements, so quick. He didn't even realize she had dusted the vampire until its face began to crumble and was slowly, quietly moved off with a light breeze.  
  
Brushing her hair back from her eyes, she grinned and moved back to take his hand. "WHAT I was going to say," She continued. "I would move the stars for you too." She leaned up and kissed his nose before moving slowly back through the row of hedges.  
  
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Chapter Ten  
  
The Past Revisited.  
  
They had spent another two hours in silence. Spike's excuse for the quiet was that, his moment of revisiting his past was enough for the time being. 'No need to give the girl's brain an overload of information.' He smiled when he felt her snuggle closer to her. As he bent down to kiss her head, he took a deep unneeded breath. She still smelt of apples and cinnamon. If he were ever to be away from her for longer then two nights, he'd be sure to have something close by to remind him of her. Maybe he'd ask what lotions she used on her skin; maybe it was just a natural sent for her. Her own unique scent. He liked that idea. 'From now on, whenever I smell apples and cinnamon, I swear I will think of my Buffy.' He silently vowed to himself.  
  
"William?" She asked so quietly even his vampiric hearing almost didn't pick it up. "I can call you William, can't I? That's okay?" She looked up at him, her eyes round and glowing with love.  
  
"You can call me anything you want Pet, as long as you tell me why you call yourself Buffy instead of Ellesbeth." He kissed the tip of her nose.  
  
She let out a long sigh. "It could take a while to explain everything."  
  
"That's okay Luv, we've got at least another four hours 'till sunrise. And I promise, I'll stake any vampires before they get a chance to interrupt you." Then, as if on cue, a vampire and purple horned demon came hulking out of the bushes. Before they even had a chance to knock Buffy out of his way, Spike had staked the vampire with the demon's wooden club and had left the demon lying, dead on the ground with a knife in it's chest. "See?" He asked holding his arms out to his side, a mischievous grin spreading across his face.  
  
Her laughter filled the space between them and she held out her hand to him. "C'mon William, I'll tell you my life story now." She wrapped her arm around his waist as he came closer. "So, my name.Ellesbeth.God, that's something I haven't heard in a long time, not since the day of the hearing." Her silence was one of shock, not of bad shock that leads to hysteria, but the shock of someone who can't believe that something bad happened to them.  
  
"Anyway, my mom named me Ellesbeth. Not because it has any relevance to our family, cos, it doesn't. But, her. best friend Aunt Katie, had named her daughter Elizabeth. The story goes. Mom loved the name Elizabeth, she had this big thing for the Royal Family of England, and so, mom made Aunt Katie promise not to name her first daughter Elizabeth. Then, mom, before hooking up with my dad." Her eyes misted over as the image of her mother and father and happier times made itself evident in her minds eye. "Got this really great job as a curator at some really posh museum/gallery thing over seas. Google Museum. or something like that."  
  
"Do you mean Guggenheim?" He asked softly.  
  
"Yeah, I think that's it. It was before I was born." She nodded slowly, "Anyways, she met dad over there while he was on vacation. He'd just graduated business school and was going to work as a manager at my grandfather's business.something to do with building companies or buildings. I have no clue. So, they met, they fell in love, they got married, they had me. And, well, just before I was born, mom was invited to visit Aunt Katie, they'd kept in touch when she first moved away. But hadn't spoken in a few months, so, they caught up and Aunt Katie had a baby with her and introduced her to my mum as her newborn daughter, Elizabeth. Mom was really upset that her best friend had used Elizabeth as the name for her first daughter, so she went back to reading books trying to find a girls name that was like Elizabeth, only better and more unusual. Finally, her and dad decided on Ellesbeth." She stopped walking for a bit and looked up at the stars.  
  
He could see her lips trembling as vision upon vision of a happier time when her father was still in the picture flashed before her. "It's okay Luv, you can stop if you want." His arms had wrapped around her waist, spooning her back against his chest.  
  
"No, I can go on." She whispered as she wiped at the lone tear that slipped over her cheek silently. "So, I was born three weeks after that awful lunch, and mom and Aunt Katie made up, saying that. it was silly of them to fight over a child's name. And that, she is glad Aunt Katie used Elizabeth to name her daughter, cos then she'd never have found Ellesbeth, which suited me better then Elizabeth." Her grin widened a little. "Elizabeth and I became really good friends. We were inseparable through most of elementary school, and the start of high school. We were so inseparable; it became impossible for people to call us 'Bethy' or 'Beth' because we would both turn around. SO, one night at one of our many sleepovers, we came up with Buffy and Baffy." She giggled and started walking down the rows again, taking a left turn.  
  
"She was Baffy, I was Buffy. At first it was supposed to be Bathy and Buthy, but Elizabeth had a speech problem and couldn't pronounce her 'Th' properly, so it came out Baffy and Buffy. And it stuck. It was really quite genius for girls of the grand old age of four. All our friends started calling us Buffy and Baffy, then our parents picked it up, and then our teachers. Then." She turned to him, tears in her eyes. "We were waiting for my dad to pick us up from the Cineplex one night, and it was raining and out of the alley next to the theatre, this.monster.came up and grabbed her. He dragged her back into the alley and I could hear her screaming, and calling for me and her mom and dad. She kept screaming for me to help her. I ran after her in the alley and began hitting the man, I kicked at him and I bit him.  
  
"I was always the bigger one of the two of us. He had begun to rape her just before I ran into the alley. He didn't think I'd come in after her. But, I did. He disappeared not long after I started hitting him. I thought it was me, but he had heard my dad calling for us and honking the horn. All I could do was just sit there." The tears were flowing freely down her cheeks now. " I held my best friend in my arms until the ambulance came. When dad found us, he told me he could have sworn that I had handfuls of hair clenched in my hands. I rode with her all the way to the hospital. She kept calling to me. Sometimes I wake up and can hear her still calling out 'Buffy'. Three days later, she died. It's my fault she died, I saw him standing there in the shadows as we walked out of the movie. I thought he was just waiting for a ride. But, just before he grabbed her, I turned around to look at a poster of a new film and saw him walk out under the light." She was sucking in great gulping breaths of air.  
  
"Was it a." Spike asked gently.  
  
"Nope. Just your regular, everyday, run of the mill sleazeoid. They picked him up at a bar the day Baffy died. He was bragging about how he had just taken "two little cock teasers", and shown them what happens to little girls who want to play with big boys. His first big mistake was that, he had stepped into the light a few minutes before, giving me a clear look at his face. His second, was sitting in a bar that happened to have my 'soon- to-be-Watcher' sitting in it."  
  
"What happened?" Spike asked wiping at his own tears that threatened to trickle down his cheeks.  
  
"Merrick, grabbed him and beat the crap out of him and took him to the police station." She smiled as she remembered the day she had read that in Merrick's journal. Just after he had died, she had been delivered a box of his belongings in the mail. In them had been his Watcher's Journal.  
  
"And you've stuck with Buffy ever since?" Spike asked taking her hand and moving along the rows.  
  
She nodded her head. "Yup. Since Baffy died, I insisted on being called Buffy. If anyone called me anything else, I wouldn't answer. Mom even had all my school records changed to Buffy. She said, if I still felt the same way when I turned eighteen, I could legally change my name from Ellesbeth to Buffy. The only person to ever call me Ellie or Ellesbeth since Baffy, was my dad. But, since he and my mom divorced, he just calls me Buffy like everyone else. The last person to ever call me Ellesbeth, was the judge when he finalized the whole custody thing in the divorce." She sighed loudly and closed her eyes for a brief second, exhaustion sweeping over her.  
  
"Luv, let me carry you." Spike asked gently.  
  
"Okay." She was too tired to argue with him. Her trip down memory lane had taken an emotional toll on her. Things she had longed to repress had presented themselves in this 'get to know your lover' talk with Spike. "And that's all there is about me." She sighed and closed her eyes as he scooped her up into his arms and carried her for the remaining two hours that it took to find the shelter for the fast approaching sunrise.  
  
  
  
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Chapter Eleven  
  
Just In Time.  
  
She had fallen asleep shortly after he offered to carry her to the next shelter. His only problem was that he had at least three hours until sunrise and he didn't know which way to go. She was light in his arms, so that wasn't a problem. They had come to a juncture, however, in the walls of the maze. To his left there was an opening in the wall of hedge down one side, to his right there was another opening, directly in front of him, was a wall with another opening, that turned sharply to the right.  
  
'Bugger this.' He thought to himself, 'What was that thing that Dru was always singing? Damn Spike, think.think.Something about the lambs and blackberry.jam?' "Aha!" He said aloud. He shifted Buffy in his arms and stood in between all three openings. Using the index finger of his left hand, he pointed to each door and whispered, "Run and catch, run and catch, the lamb is caught in the blackberry patch." As he whispered the old rhyme, he turned with each word, pointing at each opening. "Run and catch." he began again. Finally ending up with his index finger pointed straight ahead. "Straight it is."  
  
He moved through the corridor of mazes swiftly, stopping only twice to stake a vampire and brake the neck of a chaos demon. Suddenly, he came up flush against a wall of brick. The first brick wall he had seen since they started the quest. He cursed silently; he could smell the sunrise. It was only approximately three-quarters of an hour away. He turned and ran back down the row, holding Buffy closely to his chest, hoping that she wouldn't wake up and worry about what was going on.  
  
Finally, he came to an opening in the hedge on his right and took it. 'Buffy had been going about it the right way, so why didn't you just keep taking right turns?' He rolled his eyes, he should have known, woman's intuition and the slayer sense that was part of what made Buffy so strong, is what was helping get them through the endless rows of hedge. He followed the path between the hedges, taking another right turn before finally slowing down. The sunrise was getting closer; he could smell the wind change and the air around them shift. He walked along for a few minutes before coming to another opening. He stepped inside the opening and looked towards the left. At the end of the left corridor, he could just make out the shape of the shelter. He had only a few more minutes before the sun crested the horizon, gathering his strength; he hugged Buffy closer to his body and made a beeline for the door of the shelter.  
  
He pushed the door open and slammed it closed behind him as he stepped into the darkness of the small room. He let out an unneeded breath and gently shook Buffy awake. "Luv.Ellie." Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled. "Hey there sleepy head." He smiled and kissed her nose. "Are you okay?"  
  
"Okay? I'm not a sleepy head. I've been wide awake.unless. OH!" She exclaimed as what happened began to register with her. "I'm so sorry Spike! I must have been so heavy for you to carry. You should have woken me up." She reached up to hug him and kiss him softly on the lips. "You can put me down now William." She smiled and wriggled in his arms.  
  
"Yes, you did fall asleep, and, don't be ridiculous, you weigh practically nothing. And, I didn't hurt you? We just spent almost an hour running through the maze." He looked down at her sheepishly. "I sort of got us lost."  
  
She giggled. "Aww, you got us lost. It's okay; it was bound to happen, so many turns and what not. You gonna put me down or hold onto me all day?"  
  
"Hmmm, I'm thinking of .holding onto you all day. You looked so peaceful wrapped in my arms."  
  
He smiled at her, his eyes dancing with good humor and love. Suddenly, she had swung her legs around his waist and planted a soft, lingering kiss on his lips. He responded slowly. His arms sliding around her waist and up to her neck. Gently, she pried his lips open, her tongue sliding out to trace along his bottom lip before begging entry into his own mouth. Her hands danced across his shoulders, sliding down his chest and under the lapels of his long black duster, pushing and slipping it down his shoulders until it fell to the floor.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"How did you know this would happen?" Ophion turned to ask her.  
  
"It's in her eyes, it's in her heart," She replied smiling softly down at the pool that reflected Buffy and Spike's passionate embrace. "Most importantly, it's in her destiny."  
  
"What exactly is her destiny Eurynome?" Ophion took her hand and led her to a silver throne.  
  
She looked up at him with big eyes. "She will need his help.Our help. Angelus won't be the only thing that will try to brake her."  
  
Ophion paled slightly. "He won't?"  
  
"No, I told you about Glorificus, well, She is just one of many. The wrath of Angelus will be the first of many deadly battles, that, unless she has alliances in high places, she will die. We need her to be alive. She is the first slayer that will be.taken from the heavens to shine her light in the world again." Eurynome moved back to the small pool of water and waved her hand over it. "See.  
  
"These are the images of what will be, if Angelus succeeds in pulling the sword from Acathla." The image changed. Suddenly, the pool was full of Buffy's friends, crying, and the walls around them strewn with bloodied bodies. Her watcher had his glasses in his hand and was visibly shaking with sobs, his pain clearly evident as he stood over the small frail blond body. Her face, a picture of distorted horror and pain. "This is what will happen if Angelus doesn't succeed." Once again, the image changed. Buffy, the slayerettes and Giles sat around a big kitchen table. "Thanks-giving, two years from now. If she stops Angelus, and stops The Ascension of Richard Wilkins."  
  
"Isn't that.." Ophion looked closer at the pool to a second blond girl. She was sitting next to Xander.  
  
"Yes, it is Anyanka. If Ellesbeth stops Angelus, the demon Anyanka will have her demonic powers stripped and she will be returned to a mortal girl." Images of school-aged children, families, werewolves, demons, people, tears, funerals, weddings, magical beings and magical workings, all flashed across the pool. "So many lives, so many destinies. All of them are centered on that young girl and that young man in there. If they can fall in love as easily as they have in our maze, then, the alliance will be made when the time comes and the world will be safe from Acathla's and Angelus' rage. We must help. We must."  
  
Ophion looked at her. "But, how did."  
  
"There was a shift." She continued when Ophion looked at her confused. "The was something.it stirred in the universe. The other Goddesses could feel it too. Selene sensed it in the forest; I could sense it in the air. And, seeing as I am the oldest, it was left up to me to find a solution." She waved her arm over the pool again, the images coming faster, more and more faces filled the small pool, until it became nothing but a blur of colors in quick succession.  
  
"Yes my love, I understand now." Ophion nodded.  
  
Suddenly, Eurynome slumped to the floor. The magicks she had conjured to help her lover understand exerted her more then they should have. Her breathing came in heavy rasps. "I'll be fine Ophion. The change in the atmosphere has just taken a lot out of me."  
  
He sighed, "Please rest Eurynome. It is almost over. Your Ellesbeth will be fine. Relax." He soothed her hair as he lay her on a bed of lavender satin. "All will be fine, relax."  
  
He chanced another gaze at the pool. "She MUST succeed." He whispered more as a comfort to himself than any other. The images in the pool faded, the mists slowly moving back to their place above the water's surface.  
  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Chapter Twelve  
  
Just a Little Tenderness.  
  
Her hands had tightened as the ran through his hair. Her legs slipped from around his waist until she was planted firmly on the floor. "William." She whispered softly as she pulled away from his kiss, a soft moan escaping both their throats.  
  
He silently cursed Angelus for finding him and turning him. Being a vampire had a lot of perks, sure. But, when it came to loving and falling in love, the demon that had set up residence in his body was most unwelcome and almost always intrusive. "I'm sorry Ellie."  
  
She looked at him as his voice came out in a husky whisper. "I'm so scared." She admitted, looking up into his eyes. "I've never." she looked down, ashamed of her inexperience.  
  
"Oh no. No Pet, don't ever be sorry for not rushing to give that part of your soul away." His tipped her chin up and rested his forehead against hers. "I mean, not until you are sure you're in love with." He was silenced by her kiss.  
  
'A soulless demon.' She thought to herself, 'He's not scared, he's not pushing, he's not.anything.' Her hands slid up his arms to his shoulders. "I love you William."  
  
He could feel her heart begin to quicken, her blood rushed to her face, "Are you sure Buffy?" his fingers traced along her cheekbones and jaw, his thumb gently brushing her lips.  
  
"Yes." She breathed, her fingers dancing along the nape of his neck. "Please?" her tongue darted out to trace his lips, kissing him softly.  
  
"Oh Ellesbeth." He let out an unneeded sigh, he knew that if he had a beating heart, it would be racing and pumping the blood through his system almost as fast as hers was.  
  
He pulled her to him, his head tilting to deepen their kiss. Her fingers massaging his scalp and neck. She smiled tentatively as his lips moved to her neck, nipping and sucking gently at her collarbone with his blunt teeth. Her fingers slid over his chest, grazing his nipples. He moaned as her fingers continued to travel slowly down his torso. His lips continued their decent, moving from her collarbone, to the hollow of her neck, to the lace edge of her top.  
  
"William." She gasped, her hands fumbling to pull his black shirt off.  
  
He complied, stepping back and pulling his shirt over his head to reveal his white chest. Buffy's eyes widened slightly as the soft light made his chest shimmer like soft marble. "Are you sure about this Ellie?" He whispered as she reached out and ran a hand down his smooth chest.  
  
She nodded and stood up on her toes to brush his lips against hers. He slid his hands around her waist to cup her buttocks. She giggled against his mouth as she felt him harden against her stomach. Slowly she began to grind against him, her own arousal filling his nostrils with a heady musk. He picked her up and carried her to the center of the room. She smiled at him as they lay down, pulling her top off slowly. His blue eyes shone as he took in her breasts. He smiled at the innocence she displayed in her choice of underwear. Slowly, he reached his hands along her back until he found the clasp, he pulled the bra slowly from her shoulders and chest, leaving soft, tiny kisses in it's wake.  
  
Her hands tangled in his hair as he continued down. Her legs opening slowly to allow his body to slide between them. His tongue dipped into her navel, making her stomach quiver with trepidation. He undid her pants and she raised her hips slightly as he slid them down her legs. He smiled as she moved her hands to cover her matching panties, a faint blush coloring her skin. He bent his head and placed kisses on all the purple stars, avoiding the stars that covered her dampening sex.  
  
'So innocent, yet so wise.' He thought as he squeezed her nipples between his thumb and forefinger. He was amazed at how she still was able to maintain a form of innocence when she knew that there was true darkness in the world.  
  
The dull ache that had begun in her stomach had now spread to her sex and legs, making her thankful that she was lying down. 'I'd never be able to stay standing if he continued.' She wrapped her legs around his shoulders as he began to slowly drag his tongue over the stars in the crotch of her panties. Urging him closer to her body, Buffy pushed his head gently towards her clit. She moaned loudly as his tongue brushed the silky material of her panties against her clit.  
  
"William." She panted, her breath coming in short ragged gasps. "Please." Her eyes pleading with the bobbing blond head below her.  
  
He inhaled purposefully as she continued to writhe beneath the ministrations of his tongue and lips. Her own hands covering his as they squeezed and tug at her nipples. He looked up just in time to see her mouth part in a silent scream of ecstasy, 'God, her mouth looks so inviting. So.' His thoughts interrupted as she began to thrash about on the floor in her first orgasm. He smiled to himself as he lapped at her cum as it seeped through the fabric of her panties. Only was it now that he noticed his own erection and how painful it was becoming.  
  
He slowly slipped his fingers beneath the elastic of her damp panties, drawing them down over her thighs, knees and finally over her feet before adding them to the rest of the pile of clothes that had collected in the center of the room. He knelt above her, bending down to sear her lips with a kiss. She moaned as she opened her mouth to his, each tongue fighting for dominance over the other.  
  
"Ellie." His voice hoarse with passion and desire.  
  
Her eyes searched his face, finding her answers in his blue eyes. He loved her. Somehow, the demon never claimed the part of what made him such a gentle man; it was just hidden by the façade of an evil, ruthless killer. She silently thanks whatever Gods had kept the man inside Spike safe for the last one hundred and twenty-six years. Her swollen lips parted, bringing his head down in another kiss. Her hands scratching down his chest, over his nipples to his hard cock. Her slender fingers gently brushing over the tip before guiding him slowly to her entrance.  
  
"Ellie." He asked again, his voice barely a whisper.  
  
"Yes William." She nodded. Her lips brushing against his earlobe before biting into it gently.  
  
He had to control the demon from surfacing. He was NOT going to scare her their first time together. He wanted to be the perfect gentleman, taking it slowly, being tender. He pushed slowly, letting the tip of his cock part her pussy lips slowly. He looked down and saw that her eyes had fluttered closed, he could feel her clench around him. Gently, he began to ease himself into her slick channel until he was buried to the hilt. He gently kissed her lips, her nose, her eyes and her cheeks, pleading silently that she would look at him.  
  
Gradually, he began the rocking motion that would take them both over the edge. He could feel her muscles contracting around him, squeezing him tighter with each thrust. As she grew accustomed to the rhythm, he made harder, longer thrusts. She looked up at him and smiled, her fingernails raking across his shoulders. She let her hands drag down his chest, brushing his nipples. Her eyes widened as a low growl escaped his throat; she grinned to herself and repeated the motion.  
  
He knew what she was doing. He'd seen Dru do it a million times when she'd seduced their prey. 'Testing the waters', people called it. He bent down to kiss her slowly as he slid his hand between their sweat, slicked bodies. Suddenly, Buffy was changing the pace, her thrust became quicker, her hips bucking up to meet his, her muscles clenching around him tighter and longer. He began to stroke her clit harder with each thrust, intent on driving her to the edge of another orgasm.  
  
She pulled his head closer, biting into his earlobe. "Love you William." She whispered before screaming his name out into the dark recesses of the room.  
  
He thrust twice more, "Love you too Ellesbeth." He took her mouth in his, biting and licking at her swollen lips before growling and calling her name out so loud the sound reverberated through his chest and into hers. She came again, her eyes opening in surprise before closing again as a blissful moan. The moment he sensed her coming again, he let himself get swept off in the tide, his cum coating her inner walls.  
  
Her breathing had become erratic as they both came down from their orgasms. Spike cradled her in his arms, placing small kisses in her hair and on her forehead. Buffy was content, her face shone with a happiness she hadn't felt since before.since before Merrick had come to her about her calling. 'No Buff, Think Happy thoughts.' She smiled and stretched, pulling her backpack to her and removing the blanket from it.  
  
"Here, let me." Spike placed the blanket around them before laying down and pulling Buffy back into his arms. He kissed the top of her head before closing his eyes, listening to her heart slow and her pulse return to normal.  
  
"You are the most amazing woman I've ever had the pleasure of knowing." Spike whispered before kissing her nose. "You were wonderful."  
  
She smiled, 'He sure does know how to make a girl feel special.' "You weren't so bad yourself Spike. But, then, I guess one hundred and twenty- six years worth of experience would sorta lead to that wouldn't it?" She blushed. All thoughts about the future forgotten for the moment.  
  
He chuckled, "C'mon Luv, sleep now. Tomorrow we go home and can talk about experiences."  
  
She sighed and closed her eyes, her head resting on his chest. "I do love you William."  
  
"And I love you Ellesbeth, now sleep." He lightly admonished. He smiled as he realized that her breathing had already become regular and deep.  
  
Knowing that she was safe and warm, he closed his own eyes and fell asleep to the sound of her steady heartbeat. 


	4. Part 4

Author's Note: Okay, this is gonna be tricky. This is the last part of the first part of the 'Her Destiny' series. Half way through writing this and reading all your reviews, I figured, may as well make this a series, see how far I can take it before season seven actually starts here in Australia. This is the final part of 'The Center of Destiny'. I hope you enjoy it, and I hope I don't let you down. Once again, I own nothing, it all belongs to Joss Whedon, UPN, M.E. (Mutant Enemy) and anyone else that is on the Buffy Bandwagon. 'Labyrinth' is also, not mine. I just happened to be looking after little kids who were watching the film and thought I could incorporate them somehow. But, the characters all belong to Jim Henson, Jim Henson's Creature Workshop, CEL, George Lucas and Dennis Lee. Enjoy! =) B. A. xxoo. PS: 'Je ne Regret Rien', I regret nothing.  
  
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Chapter Thirteen  
  
Je ne Regret Rien.  
  
The first thing she noticed when she woke up was that she wasn't alone. She smiled as she remembered all that had happened during the day. She rolled over and spooned herself against Spike's chest, gently draping her leg over his and an arm over his chest. He moaned and snuggled closer to her. 'Couldn't be anymore perfect than this.' She thought to herself, her free hand tracing patterns on his chest. Then, it dawned on her. Spike had told her last night that when they got home, they'd talk about their future together. Her moment of happiness darkened as she realized what Eurynome had said three days prior. 'You will have no knowledge of what happened here. Your memory of this place will be erased.' She sighed, pulling Spike closer. Two days of pure happiness, she'd made a new record for herself.  
  
Her eyes became overshadowed by what she knew would happen once they made it back to Sunnydale. Ever since the night The Master tried to open the Hellmouth, she had been going through what she liked to call 'patches'. Good patches. She be regular Buffy one day, then, something would happen and she'd be made to recall something about The Master or the fact that she was just sick to death of being The Slayer. 'Saving the world. Sure it's a big job, and not just anyone can do it. But, why does that not just anyone have to be me?' She shuddered at the memory of The Master sinking his teeth into her neck. It hadn't been a blinding pain like she expected; more like the dull pain of receiving a flu shot from the doctor. Only difference was, the doctor left you with a twenty-four hour virus and if you were good, you got to have a lollipop. He didn't leave you deader then a doornail to then rise and live a life hiding in shadows.  
  
She turned to look at Spike; he had woken up and was looking at her intently. "Star for your thoughts Ellie."  
  
She grinned, "I forgot how nice it was to be called Ellie." She tilted her head to kiss him softly. "And, I was just thinking. Tonight we will be going home. I can feel it." She smiled and sat up, holding the blanket to her chest.  
  
"Well then," He began, "we best get going then." He stood and pulled her against him, his cold, hard body pressing against hers as he kissed her deeply. "Wouldn't want the Gods to get all pissy now would we?"  
  
She laughed at him before bending down to pick up her clothes. "Spike." She looked up at him through hooded eyes.  
  
"Yes Pet?" He pulled his pants up, adjusting them on his waist.  
  
"Do you." She couldn't bring herself to say it. There was a part of her that hated to know if he regretted what they had done. Yet, there was another part that needed to know he meant everything he had whispered to her last night.  
  
"Je ne regret rien." He shook his head and swept her into his arms with a kiss. "No regrets, just lots of purely wicked thoughts."  
  
"Good, cos, I'd die if you regretted what we did." She kissed his nose and put her folded up blanket back in her bag. "Now, let's go, cos, it's not going to get any darker."  
  
He followed suit. His hand catching hers as they left the small building together to make their way through the last part of the maze.  
  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
They walked along in silence for a while, enjoying the company and the scenery. Buffy silently wished they were at least three days away from the center of the maze. She wanted more time with Spike. Although, she knew that, in all likeliness, her and Spike would become a couple later on in the future. Their destinies were intertwined, just as Eurynome had told them, although, until they reached the center, they wouldn't know just how intertwined that was.  
  
She sneaked a glance at him. His lips were moving, as if singing to himself. "Star for your thoughts William?" She grinned at him. "Which, by the way, you owe me two stars."  
  
He laughed, "You'll get your stars when we get home, don't be so impatient." He looked at her and smiled. "And I wasn't thinking, I was singing."  
  
She stifled a giggle at his serious look. "Not that Beatles song I hope." She let go of his hand and thrust a stake into the vampire that was waiting for them in the bush next to her. "I hate it when they think I don't know they are there. It takes away the element of surprise." She sighed and took up his hand again, ignoring his look of shock and disbelief, "So, singing huh? What were you singing?"  
  
"J-just some song from a film, you probably have never even heard of it." He continued walking through the maze, dragging her along with him. He stopped and smiled, taking a right turn.  
  
"Try me, I know a lot of films, even ones with songs that you can sing along to." She grinned and skipped to keep up with him. "What film?"  
  
"'Labyrinth.'" He smiled shyly at her. "It's a great movie and the girl in it is one hot little chit."  
  
"Ohmigod." She whispered, "no, not that." She giggled when she felt him tense and shift into a position where he could attack anything that came at them. "Ohmigod I never thought of this before."  
  
"Thought of what?" He asked, giving her a look of confusion before continuing down the path.  
  
"That was.is.my favorite all time movie!" She smiled. "The creatures in it are so adorable, and, it's an evil place without being too evil. Do you understand?" She asked, not sure she quite understood herself.  
  
"Sort of. I mean, it's a place where, the only thing bad is the goblins and the Goblin King, a place where you still fight the good fight, but it's not a life or death situation." He looked at her.  
  
She nodded. "Exactly. Awe, I miss that now. I haven't watched it in ages. The guy.that singer.Daniel.Major.Major Tom or something, he was kinda cute in that film."  
  
He couldn't suppress his laughter, so he didn't mind the slap in the arm and the confused look he received from her. "David Bowie. His name Luv, was David Bowie. Major Tom was a song he sang."  
  
She screwed up her nose and kept on walking. "Whatever, I still think he was a major honey. Who was your favorite?" She asked, slowing down to keep from pulling his arm out of its socket.  
  
"Favorite?" He watched her in the moonlight. She was so soft, so elegant, so full of life that he couldn't help but feel a surge of love for the young girl that had made him love again. After Cecily, he'd begun to think that it was impossible, with Dru, he knew that true love like what he was feeling with Buffy was never possible. He was with her because it was his duty as her mate, her friend.her brother. With Buffy, he would be there because he wanted to, not because it was his duty.  
  
"Creature, you know. the dwarf, the fox and the big fluffy thing. Which one is your favorite?" She smiled back at him.  
  
"Oh, the big fluffy puppy type thing with the bad teeth. Ludo I think his name was." He smiled gave her hand a small squeeze. "Yours?"  
  
"Oh, that's easy, the fox, by far. He's so."  
  
"Scatterbrained?" He chimed in.  
  
"No!" She laughed, "well, he is, but no. It's because he's so gallant, and he would do anything for his new friend. Even though she could be putting him in danger." She frowned slightly, the weird band of friends back home slowly beginning to resemble the motley crew of the film. Willow, Xander, Giles.even Angel. All of them had something to offer. All of them afraid and all of them willing to put themselves at risk for her. Their friend. "I wish I could remember his name.Sir Something."  
  
"Didymus." He told her gently, "His name was Sir Didymus."  
  
She grinned and flung her arms around him in a brief hug before pulling back. "Okay, now that we've got all that sorted. Sing." She smiled at him slowly.  
  
"W-what?" He stuttered.  
  
"Sing me the songs from the film, please? I haven't heard them in a while, please sing." She snuggled into his side and wrapped her arm around his waist.  
  
Softly, he began to sing her the songs from the film.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
Chapter Fourteen  
  
  
  
End of the Road.  
  
The last three hours of the maze had been quiet. No vampires, no demons, nothing evil. Buffy had been quite pleased. She was rarely given the chance to enjoy the company of others, even if it was just in a comfortable silence.  
  
Two hours back, Spike had finally stopped singing and had decided that he was hungry, so they had stopped and sat down, having a picnic under the stars before making love between the blankets Eurynome had given them. Buffy smiled as she remembered the tingles he had sent shooting through her body when he gently bit and sucked at her nipples. Now that they had approached the center of the maze, Buffy could almost feel her heart breaking. Three wonderful nights with Spike had not been enough to sate her. She had tasted happiness and she wanted more.  
  
"This is it Luv, time to go see what destiny is in store for us." He pulled her along gently and entered the room.  
  
"William and my Ellesbeth!" Eurynome smiled and threw her arms around each of them in a warm embrace. "Come, come! We must talk and then you must see what destiny has in store for you before we return you to Sunnydale."  
  
Ophion appeared and held out his hand for Spike to shake. "I see you are as undead as ever William." His grin spreading slowly across his face. "Could it be that you two are friends. or maybe even more?" He joked.  
  
Spike could have sworn that, if he were still mortal, he would have blushed from the tips of his toes, to the roots of his bleach blond hair. He smiled and gave the older man a curt nod. "We, we came to a truce.of sorts." Spike replied, holding Buffy close to him.  
  
"Good, good. Now come, we must show you the destinies that lie before you." Eurynome spoke up, her brow furrowed in worry, her lips turning up quickly in a soft smile.  
  
She waved her hand over the pool, dispelling the mists that had collected there. She beckoned for Buffy and Spike to come closer. The picture flashing to the night they had been absconded from the alley and bought to this.other realm.to decide what destined path would be chosen for the fate of the world.  
  
"Now, don't be afraid. These images are of what will come to pass. These images are your destiny." Her hand waved over the top of the water again, letting the image of Buffy and Spike begin to melt and reform into other images.  
  
Buffy smiled when she saw the Parent/Teacher night, then scowled as she saw the familiar bleach blond hair crash in through the windows. Her face shifted from mock annoyance, to shock as she saw Willow being chased through the woods by a werewolf. Then her face changed again, Willow was smiling happily with some young red headed boy, holding hands and talking. Xander was there as well, first holding hands with Cordellia, then holding hands with an unfamiliar girl. Then, suddenly, the images went from ones of the Scooby gang smiling, to the Scooby gang standing around in shock. A girl with dark skin and dark curly hair stood next to Buffy and was looking around the library, tense and alert.  
  
Buffy smiled, 'A new friend. Yay me.' The image melted again, reforming into the face of Angel. She could feel Spike suddenly tense beside her; she dismissed it as envy towards the tall dark stranger. Then, suddenly, Angel's face turned into that of the vampire's. His grin, instead of charming, became malicious and vindictive. Buffy's heart began to race as the picture widened, allowing her to see Giles strapped to a chair in a dark room somewhere, his face bloodied and bruised, his fingers broken and twisted.  
  
"Giles!" She gasped silently, her grip tightening around Spike until she was sure she had managed to break at least two of his fingers.  
  
Eurynome looked on sadly. She knew it was too much for the young girl, not even seventeen yet. But it had to be done. She cringed as the image melted and reformed into that of Acathla and Angelus. Then, Buffy herself, was in the picture, sword drawn and was fighting with Angelus. "Do you want me to stop Ellesbeth?" She asked, hoping the young girl had seen enough.  
  
She shook her head. Watching as the picture once again melted and reformed. This time, a young girl, almost the same features as Buffy, only with long dark hair, stood atop an impromptu tower of galvanized iron. Buffy was standing beside her. Older then what she was now, 'Twenty, twenty-one maybe.' The younger girl was crying, trying to hold Buffy back. "Stop.please." Buffy whispered to Eurynome who nodded and waved her hand back over the small pool.  
  
Buffy watched as the image faded and the mists that had been covering the tiny pool returned, covering the water.  
  
Spike had remained silent the entire time. He'd seen himself in some of the images, crashing a party at the school, following Buffy through the cemeteries at night. It all seemed normal to him. Then he'd seen Angelus. His entire body had gone rigid with fear and loathing at his Sire. He and Dru hadn't heard from him in one hundred years, they'd last heard he was travelling Romania with Darla. He didn't look forward to seeing his Sire. He was terrified of what would happen if Angelus found Dru and himself all happy families with The Slayer.  
  
"I know almost everyone in those pictures." Buffy whispered to Eurynome who had led her over to the silver throne. "But, the two girls with the dark hair.they."  
  
"They were new faces. Yes." Eurynome smiled and brushed a strand of hair over Buffy's ear. "The first girl, Anya, you will come to know her soon. Just be mindful. She will be new to your world. Welcome her with happiness."  
  
Buffy smiled. "She will make my Xander happy, won't she?"  
  
Eurynome smiled and laughed. "Yes, she will. See," she sat beside Buffy in the larger throne, reserved for Ophion. "Your destiny, is intertwined with every person you have ever come into contact with. For them to fulfil their destiny, you must take part in yours. You, however, are the only one that can CHANGE that destiny."  
  
Buffy looked at her confused. "How?"  
  
"Should you choose the destiny that we have just shown you, the destinies of those you love will be happy and carefree. Should you choose the path not shown to you, the world will be sucked into hell by the demon that you saw Angelus trying to awaken. Do you understand now?"  
  
Buffy made a small 'oh' with her lips. "Yes, I understand. I think. But, how does Spike's destiny interfere with mine?" She looked nervously at Spike who was still staring blankly at the pool.  
  
"He will become your ally. We needed to know if you two could become allies before we decided which destiny path would be taken. And, you made it. You two will be strong allies throughout the future." She smiled gently at Buffy. "What do you decide?"  
  
Buffy smiled and looked at Spike, he was making his way toward her. Knowing that the serious Slayer/God talk was over. "Hello Luvs." He smiled, tipping his head in Eurynome's direction before wrapping Buffy in a hug and dancing about the room.  
  
The four of them laughed, allowing the heavy atmosphere to lighten. "So, My William," Buffy began. "Mind if I save the world today?" She asked, looking him in the eyes. Knowing that, no matter what she chose, she would still go back to Sunnydale remembering nothing of their time here.  
  
"Go for it Pet. You're The Slayer, wouldn't love you if you didn't want to save the world." He put her down and kissed her nose. "And remember, I will always love you."  
  
She flashed him her sunshine smile and flew about the room, hugging Ophion and Eurynome before rushing back into Spike's arms. "I choose, the one with all the happiness. The destiny I was shown."  
  
"Wise decision Ellesbeth." Ophion spoke for the first time since the had been shown the pool. "When you return to Sunnydale, you will still have the books. Did you figure out the riddle?" He asked.  
  
Spike shook his head. "To be completely honest mate, we didn't even really think about the riddle. What was the answer?"  
  
"The answer to the riddle 'It shines brighter than any star, and can be found in all of us' is, Love. The answer is Love. The both of you managed to find the answer within each of you, you just never thought to put it to the riddle." He chuckled softly and then lifted his arm in a short wave.  
  
"Oh." Buffy looked deep in thought, then, "The other girl. the younger one. The one with what I think is future me. Who was she?"  
  
"She is your sister. Goodbye William and Ellesbeth, be safe and let your hearts guide you." The two Gods said in unison.  
  
Then suddenly, a white blinding light filled the room and everything went dark.  
  
  
  
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Chapter Fifteen  
  
  
  
There's No Place Like Home.  
  
She had decided to walk home alone after they had finished at The Bronze. Her brain was fried, mostly not from her study session with Willow, but from her encounter with 'Spike'. Her mind had been reeling since he told her he would kill her. She'd spent the rest of the evening trying to place his name. Something in her mind knew she had to feel afraid, but something in her heart fluttered when she thought of the danger and the mystery surrounding the new big bad of Sunnydale. Suddenly, something in the environment around her shifted and she stepped into the shadows of a near- by building.  
  
"Eleanor Rigby picks up the rice in the church where a wedding has been  
  
Lives in a dream  
  
Waits at the window, Wearing the face that she keeps in a jar by the door  
  
who is it for?  
  
All the lonely people  
  
where do they all come from?  
  
All the lonely people  
  
where do they all belong?"  
  
She knew that song, her mind raced to try and place it. Giles! She had often heard him humming it while he was working in the library. The beasties.the bugs. The Beatles. She smiled and took a step out of the shadows not realizing that the voice singing was not her Watcher. The singing continued.  
  
"Father McKenzie writing the words of a sermon that no one will hear  
  
No one comes near.  
  
Look at him working. Darning his socks in the night when there's nobody there  
  
what does he care?  
  
All the lonely people  
  
where do they all come from?  
  
All the lonely people  
  
where do they all belong?"  
  
"Giles!" She said as she moved into the light of a street lamp.  
  
"Hello Pet." Spike smiled and stopped just out of her reach. He had been following her ever since she had left The Bronze. His intent to make sure she got home safely. 'Although, why I care if she gets home safe or not, I have no clue.' He thought to himself.  
  
"What are you doing? Setting me up this evening wasn't enough?" She looked at him and moved into a fighting stance, her entire body radiating both fear and confidence.  
  
"I'm on my way home, if you must know." He could smell her fear and it made the demon inside him go crazy.  
  
"Don't you know that it's dangerous for your kind to be out and about on a night like this?" Buffy asked. "Oh, that's right, I forgot, you're all a bunch of mindless things who don't care if I kick your ass and send you back to wherever it is you all came from." She tossed her hair over her shoulder and reached for the stake hidden inside her waistband.  
  
"I'm not lookin' for a fight Luv if that's what you're thinking." Spike looked at her and took a step back. "I'm just on my way home, singin' my song and lookin' for a scrap to eat."  
  
"Okay. Firstly, it's not your song; it's John and Paul's. Second, home? Don't you mean some sewer somewhere? And the all you can eat buffet of Sunnydale is now closed. You had your chance, but you let your idiot friend screw you over. Not to mention your own big mouth."  
  
"You know who The Beatles are?" he asked, impressed. "It's a good song, should be a mate's theme song. You know, 'all the lonely people, where do they all come from?' Us vampires should use it as a theme song, we are, after all lonely people, and most no one knows where we come from."  
  
She rolled her eyes, before taking a step closer. "I suggest you leave, like, now." Her former valley girl attitude surfacing for a brief moment.  
  
"You go first." He replied. "I told you I wasn't going to kill you until Saturday, and I may be a vampire, but, I'm a man of my word."  
  
She sighed. "I really don't need this, not tonight." She gave him an exasperated stare. "I'm leaving, stay here and count to ten really loud. Not that I trust you.I just.don't. trust you." She turned and fled. Something in her stomach had begun to flutter the moment he looked at her and said she could trust him not to bite her.  
  
She flew up the stairs to the front of her home. Her eyes wild with fright.  
  
"Buffy? Is that you?" Her mother called from the kitchen.  
  
"Yeah Mom.just, a wild night of studying is all. I'm gonna take a shower and get to bed. Night." She called as she headed up the stairs.  
  
"Night."  
  
Buffy couldn't sleep. Her legs felt heavy and sore, as though she had been walking for four days, but, she knew it was impossible. She, four days from now, she'd be at the mercy of her mother and principal Snyder. Facing the latest big bad of the Hellmouth was a piece of cake compared to what she KNEW would happen if Snyder got a hold of her mother.  
  
'Please let something Slayer related happen that night.' She prayed silently, 'If I'm going to die.again.then, at least let me go out at the hands of that Spike guy.'  
  
She closed her eyes and willed sleep to come. Spike invaded her dreams. He was handsome, although she would never admit it out loud. She sighed and rolled over her dream filling the white space that surrounded her. She felt.safe. They were holding hands as they walked through a maze.  
  
"I love you Buffy, don't forget that. Not ever." He bent down to whisper in her ear.  
  
"I love you too. Remember me always." She kissed his cheek then continued walking down the dreamland maze. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
A.N: Okay, a really crappy way to end the first part. But don't worry, if it doesn't make sense to you now, then, it will by the time the first chapter of the next part in the series is up. Honest. I just needed to end it someplace where I knew I'd be able to use it to screw around with the Buffyverse to my heart's content. Thanks and keep watching my place for more of this series! Love. B.A. xx 


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